Public Schools Cannot Erase Faith: The ACLJ Stands With Teacher Punished for Prayer

A Christian teacher is being told she can’t pray where students might see her. We took on her case, and now critical deadlines loom in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals – just one step below the U.S. Supreme Court.

Staci Barber – a teacher with 26 years of experience – quietly prayed before school began on the day of a “See You at the Pole” prayer event. Afterward, the principal issued a sweeping order forbidding her from praying anywhere students might see her, even if it was before classes began.

This case, Barber v. Rounds, is currently before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, one step removed from potential Supreme Court review. We filed our brief in August, and now we await the Katy Independent School District’s reply. The outcome will undoubtedly shape the future of religious liberty in our schools.

With your support, we can ensure teachers are not forced to choose between their careers and their faith. Take action with us and add your name to the petition: Defeat the Left’s War Against Christians.

Principal Rounds didn’t just tell Barber she couldn’t pray with students – he categorically banned her from praying anywhere she would be “visible to students.” In his own words, Rounds declared, “Even though it is before the school day, you are on campus visible to students in your role as an employee.” This extreme interpretation would force teachers to hide in closets to pray, effectively banning teachers from carrying out their faith.

Rounds’ sweeping ban represents exactly the type of religious suppression that violates the Constitution’s promise of religious freedom. His directive that teachers cannot engage in religious expression where students “might see” creates an unconstitutional faith-free zone that forces public employees to choose between their careers and their constitutional rights.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District (2022) fundamentally transformed the landscape of employee religious liberty. In that case, which the ACLJ supported through an amicus brief, the Court definitively rejected the notion that public employees must suppress their religious identity at work.

As we argue in our current brief: “Kennedy clearly established that public employees retain their First Amendment rights at work and cannot be compelled to suppress their religious identity simply because students might observe their expression.” The decision rejected the very policy at issue here – one that would force teachers to hide their faith whenever students might witness their religious conduct.

The Kennedy decision directly anticipated cases like Barber’s. The Court specifically condemned policies that would prevent employees from even “briefly” and “silently” giving thanks over lunch because students might observe such religious expression. Through pointed hypotheticals, the Court asked whether schools could “fire a Muslim teacher for wearing a headscarf in the classroom or prohibit a Christian aide from praying quietly over her lunch in the cafeteria.” The Court’s rhetorical questions clearly anticipated only one answer: no.

In our previous district court victory, the court saw through Principal Rounds’ qualified immunity defense, ruling that the Supreme Court’s Kennedy decision already made Staci Barber’s rights unmistakably clear. Judge Alfred H. Bennett rightly found that “Kennedy serves as an on-point case that clearly establishes that it is a violation of the First Amendment for a school to instruct its employee that she cannot pray in the presence of students.”

The court agreed with Staci’s claims, and properly applied motion-to-dismiss standards, ruling that her principal’s order was a sweeping ban on faith – prohibiting her from praying anywhere students might see her. Now that victory is under attack, and we are fighting to defend it in the court of appeals.

 This fight goes beyond one teacher’s rights. At stake is whether Christians in America can live out their faith openly or be forced to hide it to keep their jobs. Teachers spend most of their day at school – if prayer is forbidden there, faith itself is pushed out of public life. We cannot let this go unanswered.

Public officials cannot push faith out of public life just because someone might witness it – that’s antithetical to the very principles enshrined in our Constitution. The Constitution does not permit public officials to exile religious expression from American life merely because others might witness it. As the Kennedy Court emphasized, “[L]earning how to tolerate speech or prayer of all kinds is ‘part of learning how to live in a pluralistic society.’”

Kennedy clearly establishes Barber’s constitutional rights. The Supreme Court’s precedent is unmistakable: Public employees retain their First Amendment rights at work and cannot be required to hide their religious identity. Staci Barber courageously stood up for her constitutional rights while she educates our youth. She represents the very best of America, and the ACLJ is proud to stand with her.

Stand with Staci and take action with us. Add your name to the petition: Defeat the Left’s War Against Christians