ACLJ Heads to Fifth Circuit: Defending a Teacher’s Right To Pray at School

The ACLJ is preparing for oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in a case that could shape religious liberty for public school teachers across the nation.

After Staci Barber, a math teacher at Cardiff Junior High in Katy, Texas, was told she couldn’t pray anywhere on campus where students might see her, we filed suit in March 2024. We won a significant victory when District Judge Alfred H. Bennett denied the principal’s motion to dismiss, finding that the prohibition violated clearly established First Amendment rights under the Supreme Court’s Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decision. Now Principal Bryan Scott Rounds has appealed, and the Fifth Circuit will decide whether school officials can categorically ban teachers from visible religious expression simply because students might observe it.

When Staci wanted to pray at her school’s flagpole for See You at the Pole before work hours began, Principal Rounds issued a sweeping directive: Teachers “CANNOT pray with or in the presence of students.” Not just at that particular event, but anywhere on campus where students might possibly see them. The implications were stark. When Staci asked if she could pray in the parking lot away from any student gathering, Rounds said no because “there are students at the front.” A teacher couldn’t pray in a parking lot because students were present somewhere on campus.

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Kennedy Changed Everything

In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy that Coach Joseph Kennedy had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after football games in full view of students, parents, and media. Justice Gorsuch wrote that schools cannot force employees to “shed” their religious identity at work. The Court asked pointed questions: Can schools ban a Christian aide from praying over lunch in the cafeteria? The answer is clearly no.

If Coach Kennedy’s highly visible prayer at midfield during a school event was constitutionally protected, surely Staci Barber’s private prayer before work hours should be protected as well. That’s exactly what Federal Judge Alfred H. Bennett concluded last March when he denied Principal Rounds’ motion to dismiss.

Judge Bennett 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 judge recognized that Rounds’ prohibition wasn’t limited to one event but extended to prayer “in the presence of students” anywhere on campus. That categorical ban violates clearly established constitutional law.

Read about our district court victory here.

The Appeal and What’s at Stake

Principal Rounds has appealed to the Fifth Circuit, and oral arguments are on Friday, January 9. He argues that Kennedy doesn’t clearly establish that teachers can pray where students might see them, claiming his directive was only about managing a student event, not banning visible prayer.

The record speaks for itself. Rounds told teachers they were “on campus visible to students” in their role as employees and therefore could not pray “in any location where students would be present.” When ACLJ attorneys present oral argument this week before the Fifth Circuit, we’ll demonstrate that the prohibition extended far beyond a single event to encompass any visible religious expression on campus.

Read our appellate brief defending Staci’s rights.

This case matters because it will define the boundaries of religious liberty for public school teachers across the Fifth Circuit and potentially nationwide. Teachers of all faiths need to know they can display a cross necklace or say a quiet prayer over lunch without fearing for their jobs.

Staci Barber did nothing wrong. She simply wanted to pray on her campus, during her own time, in what she believed was a private moment. For that, she was told to hide her faith, suppress her religious identity, and pretend to be someone she’s not. The Constitution demands better. And we’re ready to defend her rights all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

This isn’t about teachers proselytizing in class or leading students in prayer. It’s about whether teachers can live out their faith authentically.

Take action with us as we defend the Constitution and the long-held legal principle that teachers don’t shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door.