Teacher suspended over crucifix in classroom continues fight for job

A Connecticut teacher fears she’ll lose the job she loves over a cross she had refused to remove from the classroom.

Arroyo-Castro’s legal representatives say the teacher, a devout Catholic, was suspended and allegedly “threatened with termination” last December after refusing to remove a crucifix that has sat beside her desk for 10 years, Fox News reported.

“I dream about my teaching experience almost every day,” Marisol Arroyo-Castro told Fox News on Monday.

“I didn’t realize how much I really love teaching now that I cannot go back, and the reason that I cannot go back is just so sad.”

Marisol Arroyo-Castro, a teacher who is a Catholic, was suspended without pay by the Consolidated School District of New Britain after displaying a crucifix near her desk. She has taught in the Connecticut public school system for 32 years and had displayed the crucifix for the… pic.twitter.com/u0XuUYDHFS

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First Liberty Institute and legal firm WilmerHale sent Consolidated School District of New Britain a letter one month following Arroyo-Castro’s suspension, saying the school district is in violation of her constitutional rights.

They also claim that she is being pressured to either resign or retire early and urged not to sue the district. She’s also allegedly been threatened with termination unless she agrees to hide the cross, Fox reported.

“It’s pretty clear to me that the school district is not interested in the inclusion of people like Marisol,” First Liberty senior counsel Keisha Russell said on “Fox & Friends First.”

“They said, ‘you can have it up, but it must be hidden…’ and we felt like that was just completely unacceptable,” Russel said.

“We’re in America, and a teacher is being asked to hide her crucifix and, if not, she’s being punished for it. That’s completely unacceptable.”

Russell vowed that her nonprofit will “keep pressure” on the district and “certainly” welcomes federal intervention, Fox reported.

“We know our president is a champion of religious liberty, so we’re going to just keep going. Hopefully, the decision that we’re waiting for from the District Court of Connecticut is favorable but, no matter what, we’re just going to keep the pressure on the district,” she added.

The Consolidated School District of New Britain issued the following statement to Fox News:

“We have continued to operate in good faith, and both [Marisol Arroyo-Castro] and her attorneys have declined all of the options put before her.

“We will continue to follow legal guidance throughout this process and remain committed to upholding both the law and the values of inclusion, neutrality, and respect for all.”

Arroyo-Castro remains fearful of not returning to the classroom.

“I believe wholeheartedly that I can lose my job for this, but it’s unbelievable to lose it because of my faith, because I always had a cross. I never thought that the cross was a problem for anyone,” she said.