Each week for the last 14 months we have watched various protests during the National Anthem at professional sports games. Currently, the National Football League is front in center on the stage with many player protesting each week by kneeling during the National Anthem.

In many schools across the State of Texas, students are seeing these protests and beginning to partake in their own mini-protest by sitting during the Reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance each morning.

Texas Education Code says:

Sec. 25.082.  SCHOOL DAY; PLEDGES OF ALLEGIANCE; MINUTE OF SILENCE.

(b)  The board of trustees of each school district and the governing board of each open-enrollment charter school shall require students, once during each school day at each campus, to recite:

(1)  the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag in accordance with 4 U.S.C. Section 4; and

(2)  the pledge of allegiance to the state flag in accordance with Subchapter C, Chapter 3100, Government Code.

I am not a lawyer, therefore my opinion in this manner is just that my opinion. I will leave the school law to David Thompson and Jim Walsh. With that said, in my opinion, the Code is very clear is very clear “SHALL REQUIRE” does not leave much room for interpretation. Students are required to stand for the reciting of the Pledges.

Here are some recent news stories:

October 5, 2017

http://www.khou.com/news/local/cy-fair-isd-student-says-she-was-suspended-for-sitting-during-pledge/481134618

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2017/10/07/texas-senior-sues-suspended-not-standing-pledge/

https://www.ksat.com/news/judson-high-school-teacher-challenges-student-s-silent-protest

This will be an ever-increasing problem as we go forward. It appears that an unstoppable object is on a collision course with an immovable force. It is going to get worse before it gets better.

David R. Taylor

29 Year Teacher, Coach, and Principal