Connecticut teacher escorted out of school over classroom crucifix heads to federal appeals court
A veteran Connecticut public school teacher who says she was escorted out of her school with a crucifix in a box after refusing to remove the religious symbol from her classroom is taking her First Amendment fight to a federal appeals court, with oral arguments scheduled for Dec.
Key points
- Arroyo-Castro, who was teaching middle-school social studies, said the crucifix had been a quiet source of comfort throughout her career, something she would look at while grading papers or completing reports.
- "They just backed away little by little until they left the room, and they left me there crying." NASHVILLE SCHOOL PULLS LGBT BOOKS AFTER CHRISTIAN TEACHER WAS DISCIPLINED FOR REFUSING TO READ ONE On Dec.
- A federal judge denied her request for a preliminary injunction in November 2025, finding she was unlikely to prevail because the classroom display constituted government speech.
The dispute began in December 2024, after administrators at DiLoreto Elementary & Middle School in New Britain, Connecticut, ordered Arroyo-Castro to remove a crucifix she had displayed near her desk for roughly a decade.
Additional details
- Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, where the dispute over her request for preliminary relief remains the subject of the appeal described in their March 2026 brief.
- 7, we'll have an oral argument there in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, and we'll argue before the court that Marisol's speech was private speech.
- 11, 2024, she received a formal reprimand for insubordination, and the following day, school officials removed the crucifix and suspended her for two days without pay.
- "I said, 'I can't,'" Arroyo-Castro said, remembering the moment she was told she could return to her classroom only if she left the crucifix behind.
- "Then they told me that they were going to pay me after that, but that I couldn't go back into the school near the children, that they didn't want me around the students, that I'm not supposed to talk to the students or interact with them or any of the staff in the school.
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