A federal court jury in New York ruled June 27 that the New York City Board of Education did not violate the constitutional rights of a substitute teacher who was fired for praying with student and talking to them about her belief in Jesus.
Sixth-grade teacher Midred Rosario — who had taught bilingual classes at Intermediate School 74 in the South Bronx — claimed school officials violated state laws as well as her constitutional rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments when they fired her.
Rosario, who was represented by the conservative civil liberties organization the Rutherford Institute, also claimed she had been discriminated against partly because of her Christian faith.
In her complaint, Rosario said the lawsuit stemmed from an incident in which one of her pupils asked about the whereabouts of a student who had drowned after the school principal announced a moment of silence for the dead child. Rosario said she told the pupil that the drowned classmate was in heaven, then asked who “would like to hear more about God?”
Students who were not interested were allowed t opt out of the discussion.
“In response to a direct question from one of the students whether Jesus was the son of God and if one must come through Jesus to get to God, Rosario briefly explained that that is what she believed as a Christian,” the suit said. “At the conclusion of the discussion, the students asked Rosario if she could pray for them.
She agreed and prayed a simple prayer for each of them, ‘God protect this child and his (or her) family,” the suit said.
Rosario, who had held only temporary teaching certification, will no longer be allowed to work as a teacher in New York City public schools, according to her attorney.
School administration claimed Rosario would not have been asked to return to the school anyway because of her poor performance evaluations. (RNS)
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