Math teacher under fire for banning cross necklaces in classroom

A math teacher at a public school in Tampa, Florida has come under fire for banning her students from wearing cross necklaces in the classroom.

Lora Jane Riedas, a math teacher at Riverview High School, has reportedly prohibited as many as three students from wearing crosses in her classroom, claiming that they were "gang symbols."

On Wednesday, the non-profit legal group Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to Superintendent Jeff Eakins of Hillsborough County Public Schools on behalf of a ninth-grade student who claimed that she has been asked to remove a cross during class.

According to the letter, Riedas approached the student and asked her to remove her necklace with a cross pendant that was less than an inch long. When the student asked why, the teacher said that it was "disrespectful."

"Our client did not want to be disrespectful, so she took it off, but she felt bad because she felt she was being forced to deny her faith. All of our clients are afraid to openly wear their cross necklaces in class any more," the letter stated, as reported by The Christian Post.

Riedas, a lesbian who is said to be a member of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's (GLSEN) Leadership Institute, was also accused by Liberty Counsel of engaging in "political activism."

The group pointed out that her classroom is "permanently decorated with LGBT political themes," including buttons on her desk facing the students saying, "I Love My LGBT Students" and "PROUD Public Employee."

It also noted that the teacher placed LGBT rainbow stickers on her students' classroom folders without their permission.

"One of our clients reports that after she removed the LGBT sticker, Ms. Riedas' behavior toward her changed markedly for the worse," the group said in the letter.

Riedas was also accused of promoting GLSEN's "Day of Silence," an annual event organized in schools that intends to raising awareness about the "silencing effects of anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools."

Liberty Counsel argued that the teacher's political activism in the classroom violates school district policy, which prohibits teachers from campaigning on any political issue on school grounds during working hours.

The group said that it would prefer for the school district to take action against the teacher, but it maintained that it is ready to file a federal lawsuit if needed "to vindicate the parental and student rights."

Liberty Counsel asked the school district to prohibit Riedas from "interfering with student religious expression" and stop her from promoting "LGBT political activism" during instructional time.

It also called on the school to force the teacher to remove pro-LGBT material from her classroom as well as the LGBT stickers on the students' folders.