The Pledge of Allegiance is, by no stretch of the imagination, a religious right. It is a patriotic ceremony which the legislature has the power to require of those attending schools established at public expense. A child of school age is not required to attend the institutions maintained by the public. Those who do not desire to conform with the commands of the statute can seek their schooling elsewhere.
The same court, in a case, already appeared to retreat from the harsh result contained in the Hering case. Subsequently, their parents were convicted of a disorderly persons offense because their children were not in regular attendance at school. The children were expelled and then the parents were found to be in violation of the compulsory education statute for children because their children were not attending school.
With respect to the flag salute issue itself, the court cautioned that while the State was within its right to compel those who attend public schools to salute the flag, we should nonetheless be mindful that a salute of the flag is a gesture of love and respect.
The flag is not dishonored by a child who is caught between obedience to a command by secular authority which clashes with the dictates of conscience. The court concluded its decision by stating that liberty of conscience is not subject to uncontrolled administrative action. In Barnette , the Supreme Court ruled that a requirement by a State Board of Education or a local Board of Education that all pupils salute the flag is unconstitutional. The Court opined:.
In Holden v. February 24, is the 50th anniversary of the landmark case Tinker v. Des Moines Indep. Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment rights of students to engage in political protest and expression in public schools. The Court in Tinker ruled that student Mary Beth Tinker and others could not be disciplined for wearing black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
The Court held that student speech in schools is protected as long as it does not materially and substantially disrupt the work or discipline of the school. To mark this anniversary, the ACLU of Massachusetts updates this advisory to remind students, the public, and school officials that public school students, including students in charter schools, may not be compelled to recite the pledge of allegiance or to stand during the pledge or national anthem.
Barnette , [2] the U. Lowers courts have since recognized that this right protects students who engage in silent protest or express dissent during the recitation of the pledge or during other patriotic ceremonies. Courts have held that students may express themselves by remaining seated, [3] raising their fist, [4] and kneeling. In all, 32 states have laws or guidelines that specifcally say students can opt of the pledge on their own.
Another 15 states have statutes that are unclear, delegate the choice to local schools or parents, or seem to indicate students must take the pledge. Of the states that seem to require the pledge, there is leeway for schools to allow students to not take it.
Massachusetts had its Supreme Judicial Court clarify the matter. In its decision in Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Regional School District , the court said students could not be compelled to recite the pledge. However, two states, Florida and Texas, have seen their pledge statutes tested in court, since they require permission from a parent or guardian for a student to decline to take part in the pledge.
In Texas, one dispute seemingly ended in December A high school senior, India Landry, sat during the Pledge of Allegiance at her school and was expelled. Landry sued the school and the state of Texas intervened in the lawsuit. School children cannot unilaterally refuse to participate in the pledge.
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