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Quick note: I know the election was last night and there’s a lot to process. I’ll have more on it soon!

Juan Antonio Castillo, a teacher with more than two decades of experience under his belt, began working at Rio Hondo Middle School in Texas in 2023. But soon after he arrived there, he realized the public school baked religion into what they did.

Superintendent Raul Trevino and school board president Eddie Guerra would routinely work Christianity into mandatory all-staff meetings meetings. They opened meetings with “explicitly evangelical Christian prayer,” asking everyone to rise and bow their heads while it happened. There was often another prayer later on. And as illegal as all of that was—and even though the district’s own policy manual forbids discrimination or coercion on the basis of religion—staffers weren’t given any opportunity to walk out; if they did, they would have drawn all kinds of negative attention—and many of them feared punishment.

Castillo raised this concern with them… but his requests were ignored. He was simply told prayer “doesn’t hurt anyone”… even though the implication of forcing Christianity on employees ought to be obvious.

The problems didn’t end there.

Last October, the school put up two posters on the walls “each citing Jeremiah 29:11 and bearing the quotations ‘as long as God keeps waking you up He still has a Plan for you’ and ‘as long as God keep waking you up He still [sic].’”

After hearing from parents who expressed their concerns, Castillo emailed the principal and explained how the posters violated church/state separation laws. The principal took them down… only to put them back up “on Superintendent Trevino’s instruction.”

That’s when Castillo decided to get more help. He reached out to the American Humanist Association and they sent a letter to the district this past February outlining the problems with their actions. They never got a response. Castillo’s messages to the district’s HR department were also ignored.

But in March, the posters were removed… but only because the school decided to remove all posters, including advertisements for school clubs and sports.

Beyond all this, the district allowed some teachers to display Christian crosses and Bible verses in their classrooms while asking other teachers to remove displays promoting pluralistic, inclusive ideas.

This past May, not seeing any relief on the horizon, Castillo decided to resign at the conclusion of the school year. At the final all-staff meeting, once again, there was Christian prayer at the beginning of the event.

He now works in the Corpus Christi Independent School District (which is nowhere near his home). But he’s still in touch with his old colleagues, and he learned that the prayers are still happening. In fact, at the very first all-staff meeting of the year, the district invited a Baptist preacher to proselytize to everyone.

So now he’s suing the district for violating his First Amendment rights. He’s going after the district along with Guerra and Trevino (individually and in their official capacities).

The AHA said his story shows how Christian Nationalism can pervade public school districts:

“Compelling public employees to participate in a supervisor’s religious practice against their will is precisely the kind of abuse the framers of the First Amendment sought to prevent,” said Amitai Heller, Legal Director at the American Humanist Association. “That this is happening in our public schools shows how deeply the Christian Nationalist movement has permeated our institutions. We filed this lawsuit to remind Rio Hondo ISD that public schools, like all of our public institutions, belong to all of us, and everyone should feel welcome there.”

The fact that none of these attempts to shove Christianity in everyone’s faces were isolated accidents should carry a lot of weight. The district did it over and over, even after they were alerted to the fact that they were breaking the law. It’s easy to say prayer “doesn’t hurt anyone” when it’s your religion they’re promoting. It’s easy to tell everyone to stand and bow when it’s in the name of your faith.

Castillo deserves a lot of credit for what he’s doing. The courage is incredible. He was the de facto spokesperson for many people who were bothered by the promotion of Christianity and put himself at risk by raising concerns. The fact that a veteran teacher chose to step away from the district rather than put up with the proselytizing another year is a testament to his convictions.

No one should have to feel like they need to celebrate Jesus in order to keep their job at a public school. With this lawsuit, hopefully, the district will finally get the message.