A short excerpt from today's >17K-word decision by Judge Sarah Russell (D. Conn.) in Arroyo-Castro v. Gasper:
The dispute centers around whether Ms. Castro [a New Britain schoolteacher] has the right to affix an approximately foot-high crucifix to the wall near the teacher's desk in a classroom of a public middle school….
The parties do not dispute that the crucifix display on the classroom wall is "speech" within the meaning of the First Amendment. At issue is whether the crucifix display is protected speech. When "a public employee speaks 'pursuant to [his or her] official duties,' … the Free Speech Clause generally will not shield the individual from an employer's control and discipline because that kind of speech is—for constitutional purposes at least—the government's own speech." Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist. (2022) (quoting Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006)). Here, Ms. Castro's job duties specifically included decorating the classroom walls to make the physical classroom environment conducive to student learning. Under these circumstances, based on the existing evidentiary record, I conclude that Ms. Castro acted pursuant to her official duties when she posted items on the classroom wall that students would see during instructional time.
The classroom wall decorations are thus speech pursuant to Ms. Castro's official duties and subject to the District's control. For these reasons, I conclude that Ms. Castro is unlikely to prevail on the merits of her free speech and free exercise claims and is not entitled to the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction….
