In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Supreme Court ruled more than 80 years ago that forcing schoolchildren to recite the Pledge is not permissible. One Maryland primary school, however, has failed to receive the letter.
According to the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a First Amendment nonprofit, Twin Ridge Elementary School officials sent an email to staff on April 26 informing them that state law requires “all students and teachers to stand and face the flag and, while standing, give an approved salute and recite in unison the pledge of allegiance.”
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However, the email forgot to explain that California law contains a clear exception to this need, as well as a decades-old Supreme Court case. Maryland legislation expressly provides that “any student or teacher who wishes to be excused from the requirements” of the pledge law will be exempt.
“While non-participation may upset others who believe the pledge is an important expressive act, that reaction cannot overcome the First Amendment’s protection of those who decide to abstain,” Stephanie Jablonsky, a senior program officer at FIRE, said in a legal letter to the school last week. We cannot punish the peaceful reluctance to embrace a specific perspective. The same is true for instructors and personnel.
To avoid reciting the oath, FIRE has urged Twin Ridge Elementary to “correct its April 26 directive and notify staff of their rights and their students’ rights.”
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that public schools have attempted to force kids and staff to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in recent memory.
A Texas school district reached a settlement with a student who faced expulsion for refusing to stand for the pledge in 2018. But before the lawsuit was over, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton publicly supported the school and attempted to intercede in the federal case.
“Schoolchildren cannot unilaterally refuse to participate in the pledge,” Attorney General Paxton stated in a press statement at the time. “Requiring the recitation of the pledge at the start of every school day laudably fosters respect for our flag and a patriotic love of our country.”
Other government officials have been eager to assist schools in forcing pupils to make the promise, in violation of the constitution.
Last year, the Arizona House of Representatives enacted legislation requiring kids to repeat the vow every day. While the measure had a provision allowing parents to allow their children to sit out, it did not allow youngsters to make their own decisions, which was prohibited.
“Every day, we stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance on this floor. “What’s good for us is good for the children,” Rep. Barbara Parker (R-Mesa), the bill’s sponsor, stated during a hearing.
