A public-school teacher was recently suspended by her school district after she refused to remove a crucifix from her personal workspace, which had been on display for over a decade. Miss Marisol Arroyo-Castro, who has been teaching for 32 years, was first suspended without pay for two days, and then put on paid administrative leave by the DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School for not removing the crucifix next to her desk. The Superintendent of Schools for New Britain, Connecticut, stated that the crucifix would “infringe” on students’ rights, and its presence “violates both federal and state laws.” According to reports:
“A veteran Connecticut teacher says she’d been placed on paid administrative leave and could be terminated for her refusal to remove a crucifix from her workspace, but the school district at the center of the dispute maintains officials have not threatened termination and continue seeking resolution. […]
“According to Arroyo-Castro and her attorneys with First Liberty, she was told to remove the crucifix, which has reportedly been on the wall next to her desk for the past decade without incident.
“According to a statement, she was told a failure to take it down would be considered punishable with insubordination.”
(Source: CBN .com)
After pushback, the district superintendent responded with a statement, implying that Arroyo-Castro was too outspoken about her religion with her students, and admitted that the crucifix was at the center of the dispute. “To clarify,” the statement reads, “the matter involves the teacher’s decision to prominently display a religious symbol — a crucifix — on the front wall of her public-school classroom, which violates both federal and state laws requiring public schools to remain neutral in religious matters.” (Source: https://interactive.fox61.com/pdfs/Updated-123-Superintendent-Statement.pdf)
Society is in a moral decline because it has rejected God. And so long as attacks like this go unaddressed, we can never truly become the Godly nation we are called to be.
Please sign our petition to the New Britain School District, asking that the crucifix be allowed and that Miss Marisol Arroyo-Castro be reinstated.