LEWISTON — The School Committee on Monday approved a change to the district patriotic exercises policy, which would allow students to abstain from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance regardless of whether they have parental permission.
The vote was 7-2.
Under the previous policy, students could only refrain from the practice if they had a written note from a parent.
“Individual students may decline to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance,” the new policy reads. “Students who do not participate must remain quiet and refrain from disruptive or distracting behavior while the pledge is being recited.”
Ward 2 representative Janet Beaudoin and Ward 6 representative Meghan Hird who voted in opposition said they wanted students to at least be required to stand while the Pledge of Allegiance was being recited.
Hird and several people who spoke during public comments said they would like to hear from more community members and discuss the proposal further before the School Committee took action.
Ultimately, the new policy did not include a requirement for students to stand.
Superintendent Jake Langlais said his interpretation of past court rulings would likely make such a requirement illegal.
The language for the new version of the policy was word for word from the Maine School Management legal staff, he said.
Beaudoin was the first to propose requiring students to stand during the pledge, regardless of whether they chose to participate.
She told the committee that she received messages from veterans who felt that sitting or standing during the pledge is an act of protest. She suggested the committee add language to the policy which would require that students stand during the pledge.
City Councilor Linda Scott agreed, but later voted in favor of the policy. She said it is “very imperative that we hear from (veterans),” but also said it was important to hear what students were saying.
“I would like to see (veterans and students) have conversations so that they can understand why the students feel this way, but also why the veterans feel this way,” she said. “I think it’s extremely important.”
At-large representative Megan Parks said the policy, which was written in 2000, allows students with written permission to sit, stand or make arrangements to leave the room during the pledge.
“That is the policy we’ve been operating under for at least the last (22) years … and there hasn’t been an issue with students being disrespectful, that I’m aware of,” she said. “This change that is being proposed tonight would be a significant deviation from how we’ve already been operating.”
During public comment, five community members expressed concerns regarding the policy change, with most requesting that students be required to stand during the pledge.
“I think standing and respecting the flag that we fought under would be the better thing to teach our students,” said Danielle Begert, a veteran and commander for the Androscoggin County American Legion. “That flag in the Pledge of Allegiance is what covers my brothers and sisters that did not make it home … I think we owe them a great gratitude.”
Two students and one community member spoke in support of the policy change.
One Lewiston High School student, who did not share their name with the School Committee, said they believed that allowing students to remain seated during the pledge and protecting First Amendment rights is truly patriotic.
“I think the flag represents a different meaning for all of us here,” she said. “I think that the flag means to me a lot of injustices that I face, that my friends face, and my family faces, and I simply just can’t stand up for that, I really can’t … you might have other reasons, and that’s OK, but you shouldn’t be forcing other people to stand up.”
During the discussion, Hird said she is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in Chile.
“I am glad that I was naturalized and I am an American citizen because I’m proud of my country, I’m proud of the opportunities that I’ve been given, that I’m able to have, coming to this country for a better life … and I do think that if you choose not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, you’re forgoing that right … for the United States to protect you,” she said.
Scott commended the students who asked the board to update the policy.
“They took the time, they studied this policy, they studied the Constitution, they studied what happened in the Supreme Court around the policy in our country on standing for our flag, and I think that that in and of itself shows a tremendous amount of patriotism and learning about our country,” she said.
Lewiston High School senior Nafisa Tasnia, representing the Restorative Justice Club, asked the committee to change the policy at the Jan. 24 School Committee meeting.
She requested that the committee remove the written requirement to abstain, citing a 1943 ruling by the Supreme Court, which found that compelling students to salute the flag was a violation of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech.
She told the School Committee that some students have faced punitive action for refusing to stand for the pledge, which has affected their learning and their relationship with their teacher.
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