An atheist seeking to strike the words
”
under God
”
from the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools has won another
battle in his quest to force the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the
issue again, but many San Benito County school administrators and
teachers don’t believe the victory will have any impact here.
Hollister – An atheist seeking to strike the words “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools has won another battle in his quest to force the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue again, but many San Benito County school administrators and teachers don’t believe the victory will have any impact here.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Karlton sided with atheist Michael Newdow in ruling last week that the pledge’s reference to God violates the rights of children in three school districts to be “free from a coercive requirement to affirm God.”
Karlton said he was bound by precedent of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which in 2002 ruled in favor of Newdow that the pledge is unconstitutional when recited in public schools.
Local teachers and school officials believe the decision won’t affect San Benito County Schools.
“It shouldn’t affect us,” San Benito High School Principal Debbie Padilla said Tuesday. “But we are looking at other ways to fulfill our requirement for patriotic observance.”
The California Education Code requires schools to lead students in a “patriotic observance,” but does not specifically mention the Pledge of Allegiance.
Other patriotic observances at the high school may include bulletin boards with patriotic quotations or similar school-wide projects, but Padilla believes the Pledge of Allegiance, in one form or another, will continue to be recited at San Benito High School for many years to come.
Although they are not required by the district or the state to lead students in the pledge, many SBHS teachers choose to do so during their first block classes.
Physical Education Department Chairman Randy Logue, a supporter of the pledge, is one such teacher.
“If we are ever going to get students to become good citizens we have to model the behavior of good citizens,” Logue said. “And saying the pledge is definitely a part of that.”
Logue believes that atheists, like Newdow, and other special interest groups have gone to far in their efforts to remove religion – and even the mere mention of God – from daily public life.
Since most Americans believe in a God or a higher power, Logue believes those who take issue with the Pledge of Allegiance should stand and be respectfully during the patriotic observance, even if they do not agree with the wording.
“This is a line that I’m going to stand firm on,” Logue said. “At some point you just have to say ‘enough is enough’ – the Pledge of Allegiance is important”
According to a 2004 Associated Press poll, almost nine in 10 people said the reference to God belongs in the pledge.
Judge Karlton said last week that he would sign a restraining order preventing the recitation of the pledge at the Elk Grove Unified, Rio Linda and Elverta Joint Elementary school districts in Sacramento County, where the plaintiffs’ children attend.
The order would not extend beyond those districts unless it is affirmed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in which case it could apply to nine western states, or the Supreme Court, which would apply to all states.
Although high school students recite the pledge less frequently than elementary and middle school students, SBHS Senior Stefany James said that the recent pledge ruling had come up in several of her classes last week.
“(The issue) doesn’t come up every day,” James said. “But once it comes up, students have a lot to say about it. There are students on both sides of the issue and, of course, there are students who don’t care about the issue at all.”
San Benito County Superintendent of Schools Tim Foley predicted a grim fate for Newdow’s case, which he believes politically motivated.
“The new court action is fated to the same demise (as the last one),” Foley said.
Last year Newdow brought an identical case to the Supreme Court, which dismissed the case, saying Newdow lacked standing because he did not have custody of his elementary school daughter he sued on behalf of. Newdow, an attorney and a medical doctor, filed an identical case on behalf of three unnamed parents and their children. Karlton said those families have the right to sue.
Local teachers can also use Newdow’s latest victory and the continuing debate regarding the pledge to teach San Benito County students lessons about the Constitution, Foley said.
Like many local school teachers and administrators, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell was disappointed by the district court’s decision.
“At the end of the day, I strongly believe that every student in California should be able to express their patriotism by pledging allegiance to the flag,” O’Connell said in a press release last week. “I hope when this matter is ultimately resolved, the courts will come to that same conclusion.”
When the Pledge was written in 1893 to celebrate Chicago’s Columbian Exposition, it did not include the words “under God.” Those were added in 1954 by an act of Congress.
The District Court’s ruling on the Pledge of Allegiance came just three days before the first federal government-mandated Constitution Day – in honor of the 218th anniversary of the signing of Constitution – was to be observed by schools that receive federal funding across the nation on Sept. 17.
The mandate resulted from legislation passed last year, but because the first Constitution Day fell on a Saturday, school’s were given the option to mark the occasion either the week before Sept. 17 or this week.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com
