Attorney General Alan Wilson fights to protect religious freedom

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) – Attorney General Alan Wilson joined Iowa and 16 other states supporting a public schoolteacher’s challenge to a district policy preventing her from decorating her classroom with a small personal crucifix.

The district asks teachers to decorate their classrooms. Mrs. Arroyo-Castro’s walls were decorated with “inspirational quotes, student artwork, a daily schedule,” and personal expressive items, including the small crucifix. The district allowed all of the secular wall decorations but prohibited religious expression.

“Freedom of religious expression doesn’t stop when students or teachers enter a school,” Attorney General Wilson said. “This school district, however, expressed open hostility toward a staff member’s religious views.”

The Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment protects speech and religious expression. However, the district court concluded that Arroyo-Castro’s personal display was pursuant to her official duties and therefore government speech. Ms. Castro hung the crucifix at waist height, blocked from the view of most students by a computer, and used it for silent prayer during lunch breaks, not as a teaching tool.

“The freedom to openly express deeply held religious views has been a cornerstone of American life for generations,” Attorney General Wilson stated. “As a man of faith and Attorney General, I will always fight to protect the religious freedom of every South Carolinian.”

In addition to South Carolina, attorneys general from the following states joined the Iowa-led filing: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.

The full amicus brief can be read here.