The American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center defends the right of Dwight D. Eisenhower High School student Shermar Cooper in Blue Island, Ill., to remain seated during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Cooper’s mother contacted the American Humanist Association after her son was twice instructed to stand during the Pledge exercise by a teacher, Ms. Alfano. After the first incident, the student’s mother informed the teacher that students could not be required to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. However, when Cooper again exercised his right to opt out of the Pledge, his teacher reportedly attempted to pull him out of his chair to force him to stand. School administrators also accused him of being disrespectful to US military. The American Humanist Association’s legal center demands that the school district instruct students and teachers that all students have the right not to participate in the Pledge and that teachers must not dissuade students from exercising that right. The legal center also insists the school district not discipline students who opt out of the Pledge and that Ms. Alfano must apologize to Cooper.
“Students who stand up for their rights by sitting down for the Pledge of Allegiance deserve our respect,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. “They consider the meaning of the Pledge rather than reciting it automatically, demonstrating the critical thinking that schools should encourage.”
“Students have long had the right to opt out of participation in the Pledge of Allegiance,” said David Niose, legal director of the American Humanist Association, in reference to the US Supreme Court’s 1943 ruling in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. “Public schools must uphold students’ freedom of speech, which includes sitting during the Pledge.”
