Liberty Counsel filed a discrimination report with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division on behalf of a substitute teacher fired under the pretense of violating a policy against hugging students when her volunteer involvement in after-school Bible clubs was apparently the real reason she was fired. In August, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to New Jersey school district Belleville Public Schools (BPS) and educational contractor Kelly Services USA requesting to amicably resolve these violations of the teacher’s First Amendment and Title VII rights. However, repeated attempts to do so have gone unanswered. The case has now been elevated to the Justice Department Office of Civil Rights for presentation to the Anti-Christian Bias Task Force.

In the letter, Liberty Counsel stated the substitute teacher’s firing was “improper” as it was in apparent retaliation of her exercising her First Amendment religious freedom rights by participating in an after-school enrichment club that holds a Christian viewpoint. Liberty Counsel requested that:

1) BPS request that Kelly Services USA reinstate the substitute teacher.

2) Kelly Services rehire the substitute teacher and designate her for service within BPS.

3) Kelly Services will (within 30 days from rehiring) provide to the substitute teacher the difference between her unemployment benefits, and what she would have made, had she worked a normal school year as she has done since 2021.

In January 2025, at the behest of BPS, Kelly Services fired the teacher for allegedly violating the school district’s “Safe Touch” policy by receiving hugs from children even though it was common practice for district staff to accept them. The allegation was made by a BPS employee in December 2024 the day after the substitute teacher told children about an after-school Bible club opportunity held on campus, for which she frequently volunteers to facilitate at several schools in the district. 

Liberty Counsel’s demand letter stated that appropriate affection between teachers and students is “common and celebrated” from New York all the way to California, including in BPS’ own schools where social media posts show pictures of several principals innocently hugging their young students. In addition to hugging students, district staff also routinely informs students of secular after-school activities without any discipline. When the substitute teacher filed for unemployment, Kelly Services opposed it claiming she had been fired for misconduct. The New Jersey Department of Labor Appeal Tribunal found no evidence the substitute teacher violated the “Safe Touch” policy nor found the teacher’s firing was due to any misconduct. Neither BPS nor Kelly Services has made any effort to reinstate the teacher. 

The teacher, adored by many students, testified to the tribunal it has been her practice for many years to reciprocate the innocent endearments of the children. Even in the “Safe Touch” allegation, there was nothing claiming these affections were other than wholly natural, motherly, or wholesome.

According to the “Safe Touch” policy, school staff must “maintain a professional relationship with pupils.” Regarding affection, the policy states teachers must refrain from “kissing, touching or feeling private parts” and must not show “affection beyond the the staff member/pupil relationship.”

The “Safe Touch” allegation singles out the teacher and appears to be an excuse to fire her for informing students of the potential of an after-school Bible club, which is an unlawful retaliation under the First Amendment and Title VII, wrote Liberty Counsel. Also, Liberty Counsel noted that it is also unlawful for government entities like BPS to “coerce or significantly encourage” private parties like Kelly Services to directly or indirectly punish someone for their religious expression or exercise. 

While BPS and Kelly Services face potential liability under Title VII, the New Jersey Constitution, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, they also face potential investigation under Executive Order 14202 titled, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias.” The February 6 executive order establishes policy “to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government.”  The policy created the “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias” that regularly meets and takes appropriate action on the religious discrimination cases reported to it.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Teachers do not shed their constitutional rights when they enter the schoolhouse doors. Teachers across America are routinely hugged by students. As such, the discriminatory animus and retaliation toward this substitute teacher’s religion and participation in the after-school Bible clubs are clearly unconstitutional. The school district and contracting company should correct this potentially costly mistake and reinstate the teacher.”