ANSWERS: 2
-
If the student refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance because of the words "under God" or for religous reasons all they are expected to do is to stand and put their hand over their heart. For example: Even in the days when all public schools stated the Pledge everday in the morning, regardless of the state, Jehovah Witnesses were still around. They are not, for relgious reasons, allowed to make pledges. So they would stand respectfully with their hands over their heart and not take the Pledge. Because this ties into freedom of religion, the law cannot, or at least isn't supposed to, subject the student to any punishment. Now on the other hand, if the student is just being a hard head for no particular reason or is being disrespectful during the Pledge of Allegiance then the school has the right to give the student detention or what not. Now, I'm not saying that if you don't do it, for real and logical reasons, your school won't try to punish you, but they're not suppose to.
-
The answer which said students not saying the Pledge must rise and put their hands on their hearts silently is mistaken. In public schools, students who are not reciting the Pledge CANNOT be forced to stand for the Pledge, nor can they be forced to put their hands over their hearts. They can if they WANT to, but they cannot be forced to. If a student is punished for not wanting to recite the pledge, she and her parents can sue the school district and they will automatically win. The U.S. Supreme Court decided this issue long ago, in 1943: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_vs._Barnette If someone has been punished, they can contact their state ACLU for more information on what to do next: http://www.aclu.org/affiliates/index.html This applies only to public schools. Students in private schools have no rights regarding the Pledge other than the ones the school and their parents choose to give them.
Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

by 