Standing With Teachers of Faith: ACLJ Defends Staci Barber’s Religious Liberty in Court

Staci Barber, a teacher with over 26 years of experience at Cardiff Junior High in the Katy Independent School District, faced an unconscionable choice: abandon her faith or risk her career. When she attempted to pray at the nationally recognized “See You at the Pole” prayer event in September 2023, the school’s principal, Bryan Scott Rounds, issued a sweeping prohibition that went far beyond reasonable policy enforcement.

The ACLJ is proud to represent teacher Staci Barber in a critical religious liberty case that could determine whether public school employees can be forced to hide their faith simply because students might witness their private prayers. We have been fighting in federal court to defend her right to pray after she was banned from praying anywhere students could see her.

In Barber v. Rounds, currently before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, we are defending a dedicated educator’s fundamental right to engage in personal prayer at her school without facing discriminatory punishment from hostile administrators. We have just filed our brief, defending her constitutional rights against this assault.

Stand with us as we defend this dedicated and faithful teacher who refuses to give in to the Left’s demands. Add your name to the petition: Defeat the Left’s War Against Christians.

Attacking a Teacher’s Religious Liberty

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 that “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.

Kennedy v. Bremerton: A Game-Changing Victory

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 brief: “Kennedy clearly established that public employees retain their constitutional 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.

The ACLJ’s Commitment to Religious Liberty

For decades, the ACLJ has stood at the forefront of defending religious liberty in America’s public schools. We’ve represented countless teachers, administrators, and students who faced discrimination because of their faith. From defending teachers’ rights to wear religious jewelry to protecting students’ rights to form Bible clubs, we’ve consistently fought to ensure that the schoolhouse gate does not become a barrier to constitutional freedoms.

Our work in cases like Mergens v. Board of Education, where we helped establish the constitutional right of students to form religious clubs in public schools, laid the foundation for protecting religious expression in educational settings. In Good News Club v. Milford Central School, we helped secure the Supreme Court’s recognition that religious groups have equal access to public forums. We’ve defended teachers in cases ranging from New Jersey to California, consistently establishing that public employment does not require surrendering one’s religious identity.

The District Court Victory

The federal district court properly rejected Rounds’ qualified immunity defense, recognizing that Kennedy clearly established Barber’s rights. 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 correctly applied motion to dismiss standards, accepting Barber’s well-pleaded allegations that Rounds imposed a categorical prohibition on religious expression anywhere students might observe – not merely a narrow restriction on teacher-student interaction. We are now defending that victory in the appellate courts.

What’s at Stake

This case represents more than one teacher’s rights – it’s about whether religious Americans can participate fully in public life. Teachers spend most of their waking hours at school. If they cannot engage in religious expression there simply because students might observe them, they are effectively forced to abandon their faith as a condition of employment.

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.’”

The outcome of this case will reverberate far beyond Texas classrooms. If hostile administrators can force teachers to hide their faith through expansive interpretations of the separation of church and state, it sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the religious liberty of millions of public employees nationwide. This case will determine whether school districts can create “faith-free zones” where religious expression is categorically banned, or whether the Constitution’s promise of religious freedom will be honored in our nation’s schools. Victory here will empower countless teachers, coaches, and school employees who have been silenced by discriminatory policies. The stakes could not be higher for the future of religious liberty in America’s educational institutions.

Moving Forward With Confidence

Kennedy clearly established 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, and the ACLJ is proud to stand with her.