Students in the Washoe County School District in Nevada will no longer compel students to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. A district parent contacted FFRF, reporting that a student was ordered to stand for the pledge and was ordered to leave class, counted absent and not allowed back into class after refusing to stand.
“Courts have reiterated over and over again that students have a constitutional right not to be forced to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance or to be compelled to stand for its recitation,” wrote Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel in an Oct. 22 letter.
The district’s general counsel replied, saying that he distributed a districtwide memo “reminding our school principals that students must not be compelled to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance or be harassed for remaining seated.”
