Connecticut Public School Teacher Takes Classroom Crucifix Fight to Federal Appeals Court
A veteran Connecticut educator who spent three decades in the classroom is taking her First Amendment fight to federal court after being ordered to remove a personal religious symbol from her desk. The legal battle centers on middle school social studies teacher Marisol Arroyo-Castro and a crucifix she kept near her workspace at DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School in New Britain, Connecticut, for roughly ten years. Trouble began in December 2024 when administrators informed Arroyo-Castro that displaying the religious icon was illegal and instructed her to remove it. Refusing the directive meant facing charges of insubordination. Reflecting on the initial confrontation with administrators, Arroyo-Castro recalled her direct refusal, telling Fox News Digital, “I said, ‘I can’t.'”
Arroyo-Castro maintained that the display was a personal, quiet comfort during her daily routines. “I pretty much kept it to myself,” she explained, adding that “It keeps me calm and [it’s] just part of me.” School officials ultimately issued a formal reprimand for insubordination on Dec. 11, 2024. The next day, administrators took down the display themselves and suspended her for two days without pay. On Dec. 16, 2024, the district placed her on paid administrative leave, eventually reassigning her to a non-teaching role in March 2025.
The Legal Dispute Over Private Speech
Arroyo-Castro filed a federal lawsuit in January 2025, claiming the district violated her rights under the First Amendment. However, a federal district judge turned down her request for a preliminary injunction in November 2025, ruling that the desk display constituted government speech rather than private expression. Her legal team, represented by First Liberty Institute senior counsel Becky Rees Dummermuth, appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Arroyo-Castro’s attorneys filed a brief in March 2026, arguing that public school teachers retain the right to engage in private religious expression under the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses. They point to recent Supreme Court precedent establishing that personal religious expression remains protected even when visible to public school students. Oral arguments before the Second Circuit in New York City are scheduled for Dec. 7.
District Cites Classroom Environment Concerns
The Consolidated School District of New Britain presents a very different account of the situation. District officials maintain that the administrative action involved issues beyond the mere presence of a religious icon. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a district spokesperson asserted that an independent, third-party investigative report identified a wider pattern of behavior that raised serious concerns about the treatment of students from different religious backgrounds. The spokesperson stated that administrators provided multiple accommodations allowing Ms. Castro to practice her faith without encroaching on student freedoms, but she rejected every alternative offered. First Liberty legal counsel rejected the district’s framing, countering that administrators repeatedly informed Ms. Castro she could return to her students if she simply took down the crucifix, relying on Establishment Clause arguments that conflict with Supreme Court precedent.