Beekmantown to make Pledge of Allegiance optional

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November 25, 2009

By STEPHEN BARTLETT The Press Republican Wed Nov 25, 2009, 05:29 PM EST

BEEKMANTOWN — Beekmantown Central School officials plan to inform students they have the right to opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

The new policy is the result of a complaint by at least one parent who was upset about his or her child standing and reciting the pledge each day at school.

For its part, the School District is simply following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that deemed it unconstitutional to compel students to recite the pledge.

“There has been some parent concerns about the pledge, and the school superintendent is trying to address them,” said School Board President Stanley Kourofsky.

The Press-Republican was not able to reach Superintendent Scott Amo for comment for this story.

Kourofsky said Amo is following legal guidelines that outline what can be done in public schools concerning the Pledge of Allegiance.

“We have a parent concerned about having their child stand and say the pledge,” Kourofsky said.

Beekmantown teachers received an e-mail telling them to let students decide whether they wanted to stand and recite it.

The official, school-wide announcement is expected next week.

This isn’t the first time Beekmantown has been involved with controversy surrounding the Pledge of Allegiance.

Parents brought action against the district for punishing a special-education student for failing to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance in violation of her First Amendment rights. In 2000, the judge hearing that case ruled, “It is well established that a school may not require its students to stand for or recite the Pledge of Allegiance or punish any student for his/her failure to do so.”

In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to require West Virginia school students to stand and recite the pledge.

In 1892, Baptist minister and socialist Francis Bellamy composed the original Pledge of Allegiance, which is considered an oath of loyalty to the United States.

It has been modified four times since then, and in 1954 the words “under God” were added after lobbying by religious leaders and organizations. It originally read, “I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

It is supposed to be recited standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

The pledge has been a source of controversy since it was created.

Some religious groups objected to swearing an oath to the flag, or any power other than God, while the words “under God” have been sticking points for people such as atheists and agnostics.

Recently, a fifth-grader from Arkansas gained national media attention for refusing to say the pledge in his classroom until gays and lesbians have equal rights.

Earlier this year, a Cleveland school district voted to continue the district’s policy of not saying the pledge.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, New Hampshire passed a law saying schools must set aside time for teachers to lead the pledge, though students are not required to recite it. Last month, a judge in New Hampshire granted a school district’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit by parents who objected to exposing their children to the words “under God.”

Also last month, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case concerning a Florida law that requires students to recite the pledge unless they have parental permission not do so. Florida law has long required students to recite the pledge, and lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that students should be able to refuse to recite the pledge on their own.

A federal appeals court in Florida ruled that the First Amendment right does not extend to students, but instead their parents.

This year, the American Civil Liberties Union has argued that not only should students be able to opt out of reciting the pledge, but school districts must inform them that it is their right to do so.

Beekmantown School officials seem to agree with this logic.

E-mail Stephen Bartlett at:

sbartlett@pressrepublican.com