Local schools don
’t have any plans to change their policies regarding the pledge
of allegiance, even though a federal judge has prohibited some
Sacramento schools from forcing students to recite the historic
commitment to the country.
Local schools don’t have any plans to change their policies regarding the pledge of allegiance, even though a federal judge has prohibited some Sacramento schools from forcing students to recite the historic commitment to the country.
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Sacramento ruled that requiring students to recite the pledge with the words “under God” was unconstitutional. On Sept. 14, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton, ruled that the phrase “under God” violates the Constitution’s separation of church and state. The ruling will not affect other districts in the state unless it is supported by the 9th Circuit Court or the Supreme Court.
The recent lawsuit was filed by atheist Michael Newdow of Sacramento, who gained notoriety when he filed his first lawsuit in 2002, saying that he did not want his daughter to recite the pledge. The 2005 lawsuit was filed by Newdow as a lawyer on behalf of three families claiming that reciting the pledge is unconstitutional.
Superintendent Alan Nishino said students in elementary and middle schools will continue to recite the pledge as school begins each day. Nishino told principals on Sept. 16 that there would be no changes in the district’s pledge policy
Every weekday morning, students throughout the Morgan Hill School District stand with hands over hearts and pledge their allegiance to the United States. The daily ritual will continue for now, complete with the words that have created a controversy, “under God.”
“It is my understanding that only the three districts that have been in the lawsuit are bound by the ruling,” he said. “Until we get further instruction, we will continue to say the pledge, and we will continue to use the words ‘under God.’”
Currently, students in the district’s elementary schools recite the pledge daily, either in each individual classroom or led by an announcement over the public address system. The district’s two middle schools use the time during morning announcements over the public address system for students to recite the pledge. At Live Oak and Central High Schools, some classrooms recite the pledge while some do not. At Sobrato High, students recite the pledge, as it is led over the public address system, with the announcements at the beginning of second period.
The original pledge, which was written by the son of a Baptist minister, Francis Bellamy, did not include the words “under God.” It was written to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in America. The pledge was adopted by Congress in 1942.
“Under God” was added to the pledge in 1954. A House report on its passage reported the legislation adding the phrase was responding to a belief that “from the time of our earliest history our peoples and our institutions have reflected the traditional concept that our nation was founded on a fundamental belief in God.”
