Parental Rights and the Pledge of Allegiance
Tag(s): Constitutional Amendment • Danger to Parental Rights • parental rights • parents • school stories
A Palm Beach County case on parental rights reached the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. The case started with Boynton Beach High School student Cameron Frazier, an eleventh grader who refused to say the pledge of allegiance with the rest of his class in 2005. The following year a district court judge handed down a ruling that minor children possess “autonomy” from parents to decide whether or not to say the pledge of allegiance.
The district court ruling directly contradicts Florida law, which seeks to protect the rights of both students and parents by requiring parental consent for students wishing to “opt out” of saying the pledge. But Frazier, his mother, and the ACLU were intent on striking down the state law and altering the state education policy which allows parents to make crucial decisions for their children regarding attendance of certain classes, or, in this case, determining whether or not to say the pledge of allegiance. In comments praising the district court’s decision, Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida said, “It was long past due for this unconstitutional law in Florida to be struck down and the conscience and rights of young people to be respected by school officials.” Read the rest of this entry »
