ACLU Forces TX School District to Change Policy on Standing During Pledge

Samuel Brooks is the president of the Sweeny, TX (near Houston) school board. He's a fan of the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. But after two high schoolers complained about the district's policy requiring students to stand while reciting the Pledge, the ACLU stepped in. And after that happened, the school district felt it had no choice but to change its policy.

"They were refusing to stand up for the Pledge, and then it got around the whole school," fellow student Cherissh Garrett told KTRK-TV. But despite the protest, the students didn't face any repercussions.

"There was no disciplinary action taken. It was just a request that they stand for the pledge," Superintendent Randy Miksch told KTRK. That didn't matter to the students, who complained anyway. When the ACLU got involved, the district capitulated:

"Our bill of rights and American tradition protect dissenters and the majority just the same, and the right to express disagreement is a patriotic value that all Texans should fight for," the ACLU said in a statement.

Despite changing the policy, those responsible for doing so aren't happy about it. Brooks, the school board president, is one of them.

"I don't agree with [the ACLU's position] personally, I still think that we should be able to, in our district, we should be able to set a standard of behavior that we require for our students to show," he told Fox News. "And part of that should be showing respect to the flag of our nation and our state."

He explained that the district will change the language in its policy to suggest standing, and may even still "require" it in a round about way:

At issue in this case isn't necessarily the requirement to say the Pledge. Currently, Texas law requires students to recite it every day. According to KTRK-TV, students can be exempted "but only with a written request from a parent or guardian."

(H/T: Fox Nation)