Veteran teacher suspended, faces firing for having cross by desk; law firm says school district violating free speech rights

A public school teacher in Connecticut was suspended and threatened with termination after refusing to remove a small crucifix near her desk, according to a religious liberty law firm representing her.

Marisol Arroyo-Castro — a veteran teacher of more than 30 years who is a devout Catholic — has reportedly been a victim of religious discrimination.

‘The Supreme Court has made it clear that the days of intimidating teachers from even the most benign expressions of faith are over.’

The teacher’s job evaluation from June 2024 touted Castro as a “proficient” instructor who “holds [her class] to high expectations,” plus her students “showed growth.”

According to the First Liberty Institute, Castro regularly received “proficient’ or “exemplary” evaluations as a teacher at the DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School in New Britain, Connecticut.

Castro has reportedly displayed a small crucifix beside her desk for about the last 10 years. The grandmother of five allegedly received the crucifix from the family of a deceased friend as a memento.

Castro treasures the crucifix and considers it a part of her personal and religious identity. She said having the crucifix in view near her desk brought her daily calm, peace, and strength — especially on challenging teaching days.

This school year, Castro hung the crucifix at the bottom of a whiteboard near her desk. Above the cross is artwork by students and a sign that reads: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

First Liberty Institute

On Dec. 3, 2024, DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School Assistant Principal Andrew Mazzei allegedly emailed Castro regarding the crucifix hanging in her classroom. Mazzei reportedly requested a meeting over “concern” over the small cross.

Three days after the email was sent, Castro met with Mazzei and Jennifer Pagan, a representative of her local union. Castro was ordered to take down the crucifix, according to the First Liberty Institute, a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation “dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.”

The assistant principal went to Castro’s classroom two days later and noticed that the crucifix was still displayed.

A day later, Castro purportedly met with Mazzei, DiLoreto Principal Dario Soto, Consolidated School District of New Britain chief of staff Maryellen Manning, and American Federation of Teachers field operative Ed Leavy.

The administrators allegedly advised Castro to keep the crucifix in her desk drawer, and only take the cross out when she needed to “ground herself.”

By the end of the meeting, the administrators decided that a compromise would be for Castro to hang the cross underneath her desk near her feet. Despite being “shocked,” Castro complied.

The First Liberty Institute noted that another teacher at the school featured a coffee mug with a citation to the biblical book of Proverbs 3 on their desk, and another teacher’s personal bulletin space spotlights a small photograph of a statue of the Virgin Mary.

First Liberty Institute

However, Castro “immediately felt sick and grew distraught” to the point that others reportedly noticed her sobbing just minutes before a scheduled parent-teacher conference.

Defending her religious faith, Castro returned the crucifix to its place on the wall on Dec. 11, 2024.

“She did so, out of personal conscience, because hiding the crucifix under her desk would ‘hide her light under a bushel,'” the First Liberty Institute stated in a letter sent to the board of directors for the Consolidated School District of New Britain.

The school district reportedly retaliated on the same day by issuing a Letter of Reprimand to Castro, accusing her that her actions were “insubordinate.” The letter allegedly declared that Soto would come to her classroom to “assist [Ms. Castro] with removing the cross from [her] classroom” by the end of the school day.

Castro allegedly informed Soto that she would not remove the cross.

However, Soto reportedly told her that she must remove the cross to properly “live out [her] faith” and called on her to “give Caesar what is Caesar’s.”

Soto allegedly threatened Castro with a suspension and possible termination for insubordination if she did not take down the small cross by the next morning.

Castro purportedly left the cross on the wall, and the next morning, she noticed that the crucifix had been removed from the wall.

Castro was summoned to another meeting with administrators, and Manning reportedly told the dedicated teacher that a few days without pay would help her better “reflect” on whether it was in her “best interest” to keep hanging the crucifix on the wall.

According to the First Liberty Institute, Castro’s union representative said on Dec. 13 that she would face an additional five-day suspension for insubordination if she did not comply with the school district’s demands.

On Dec. 16, Castro emailed the Consolidated School District of New Britain to express that she could not in good conscience return to school under the school’s condition that her cross be placed under the desk.

“We are aware, however, that Ms. Castro has been pressured to resign or retire early and sign an agreement not to sue the district,” the First Liberty Institute stated. “We are additionally aware that the district has threatened to terminate Ms. Castro unless she agrees to conceal the crucifix underneath her desk or in a similarly hidden place.”

The First Liberty Institute declared, “The Establishment Clause does not enable the district to violate Ms. Castro’s right to freely exercise her religion Under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and under the Connecticut Constitution, the district may not abridge its employees’ free speech rights, nor their rights to freely exercise their religion.”

The Consolidated School District of New Britain told Fox News, “That the symbol posted was on the classroom’s front wall is important. It was part of the classroom environment for all students to see, infringing on the religious freedom of our students.”

“We will not allow any teacher to use their position of authority to impose their personal religious beliefs or infringe on the civil rights of students,” stated Dr. Tony Gasper, superintendent of schools. “Our commitment is to ensure a learning environment where all students feel respected.”

The school district said Castro has been placed on paid leave while administrators attempt to resolve the issue in a “cooperative and collaborative fashion.”

Keisha Russell, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, proclaimed, “Requiring a teacher to purge their workspace of anything religious is blatant discrimination that violates the First Amendment.”

“The Supreme Court has made it clear that the days of intimidating teachers from even the most benign expressions of faith are over,” Russell continued. “Asking a teacher to purge their workspace of anything religious is an affront to the First Amendment and violates both state and federal law. The school district needs to back down now.”

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