More than 80 years have passed since the Supreme Court issued this decision. West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnett Schoolchildren cannot be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. However, one elementary school in Maryland has not yet received the memo.
According to the First Amendment nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Twin Ridge Elementary School officials reported e-mail On April 26, staff were notified that state law requires “all students and teachers to ‘stand and face the flag, perform an approved salute while standing, and recite the Pledge of Allegiance in unison.'”
But the email failed to note that there was a glaring exception to this requirement in state law, let alone a decades-old Supreme Court ruling. Maryland law clearly states that “any student or teacher who wishes to be exempted from the requirements of the Pledge Law” will be exempted.
Stephanie Jablonsky, senior project officer at FIRE, wrote in the letter: “While non-participation may be upsetting to others who view this pledge as an important act of expression, such a reaction cannot transcend the First Amendment’s protection against those who decide to abstain. Protection of persons. “Peaceful refusal to support a particular point of view cannot justify punishment. The same goes for faculty and staff. “
FIRE called on Twin Ridge Elementary School to “correct its April 26 directive and notify staff of their rights and students’ rights” not to recite the pledge.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time in recent years that public schools have attempted to force students and staff to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
In 2018, officials in a Texas school district settle down With a student who was expelled for refusing to take the oath. But before the case was concluded, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly sided with the schools and attempted to intervene in the federal case on their behalf.
“Elementary students cannot unilaterally refuse to participate in the Pledge,” Attorney General Paxton said in a statement. Press release then. “Requiring the recitation of the Pledge at the beginning of each school day has the laudable result of fostering respect for our flag and patriotism for our country.”
Other government officials are more than happy to help schools unconstitutionally force students to commit.
Last year, the Arizona House of Representatives Passed A bill that would force students to recite the Pledge every day. While the bill contains a provision that allows parents to allow their children to sit outside, it does not allow children to make their own decisions, which is illegal.
“We stand on this floor every day and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. What’s good for us is good for the kids,” Rep. Barbara Parker (R-Mesa), the bill’s sponsor, said during the hearing.
