Audio St. Paul schools will follow state law on Pledge of Allegiance (story audio) Photos Judith Scheid Ross Orenstein Mercedes Yarbrough Your Voice Join the conversation with other MPR listeners in the News Forum.

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St. Paul schools will follow state law on Pledge of Allegiance
by Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio
September 4, 2003

Judith Scheid, a teacher at Highland Park Junior High,leads a discussion with her eighth grade social studies students about the Pledge of Allegiance. (MPR Photo/Tim Pugmire)

St. Paul public schools will follow a new statewide Pledge of Allegiance mandate. School board members met in special session Wednesday night to consider waiving the requirement this year. But the board quickly adjourned without taking action. The move means individual St. Paul schools will no longer have a choice to not recite the pledge.

St. Paul, Minn. — At Highland Park Junior High, teacher Judith Scheid led a discussion with her eighth grade social studies students about the Pledge of Allegiance. Previous school district policy let each school decide whether to recite the pledge. Highland Park Junior High chose not to participate.

Student Ross Orenstein has an opinion similar to many classmates. He says reciting the pledge should be an individual choice.

	Ross Orenstein

"To force people to say it, I don't think that's right," Orenstein said. "Because, just because you are saying it doesn't mean you feel it. So, I think people should be able to say it, but you shouldn't be forced to say it."

But other students have a different view of the issue. Mercedes Yarbrough says there's nothing wrong the pledge, and she wants an opportunity to recite it.

"We used to do it when we were little," Yarbrough said. "And it only took like three minutes. It didn't take like 10 minutes of your class time. It shows respect to your country. And with all the stuff going on, I think you should do it."

Action by the St. Paul school board and Minnesota Legislature will now provide that opportunity. Legislation passed in the 2003 session requires all Minnesota public schools, including charter schools, to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at least once a week. Individuals have the right not to participate. The law also allows school districts to opt out of the requirement through a vote of the school board.

	Mercedes Yarbrough

Al Oertwig, chairman of the St. Paul school board, wasn't interested in that option. "It seems to me as if we have provided adequate direction to our school sites already, and that they now can follow our policy and also follow the state law as it has been passed," Oertwig said. "So, I am not of the opinion that further action on the part of the board is needed at this time."

Oertwig bypassed any further discussion of the issue by calling for a motion to adjourn. Board member Anne Carroll was the only vote against the motion. She was also the one who brought forward the proposed waiver.

Carroll says opting out of the state mandate would have preserved the district's current policy. She says schools must now decide how to recite the pledge while protecting individuals who do not want to participate.

"So the schools will have to determine ways to ensure that students and adults can do so as protected by the Supreme Court decision," Carroll said. "And I am confident that ways will be found to do that, that protect the rights of everyone involved."

By next year, all schools must include in their student handbooks or policy guides a statement about individuals' right to not participate. They must also instruct students to respect others who choose not to recite the pledge.

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