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NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) — A national atheist group is helping the parents of a 6-year-old New Town boy who wants to sit while his classmates stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
The American Humanist Association's Appignani Humanist Legal Center has sent a letter to school officials, saying that coercing a student to stand for the pledge infringes on his or her constitutional rights.
"Allowing students to exercise their right to sit out the Pledge of Allegiance is a matter of free speech and freedom of conscience," said David Niose, the center's legal director.
Parent Jesse Moore told the Minot Daily News (http://bit.ly/1pi8602 ) that school staff have removed his son from the classroom and also suggested to the parents that they bring the boy to school 10 minutes late.
He said it's the boy's choice to sit out the pledge. His older brother stands while it is recited, a decision Moore said he and his wife also support.
"We're trying to raise free thinkers," he said.
Moore said it wasn't a problem for his son to sit during the pledge last year and it would take very little effort for the school to accommodate his son's decision to sit quietly at his desk while the other children say the pledge. Moore said he believes the school administration has violated his son's First Amendment rights and that making him stand outside the classroom counts as public punishment.
School District Superintendent Marc Bluestone said the boy has been asked to stand outside the classroom during the pledge to avoid disrupting the other students who wonder why they can't also sit and ask questions about what the boy is doing.
Bluestone, a veteran, said he feels strongly about the importance of teaching children to be patriotic. He said officials at the school are consulting with the district's attorney.
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Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com
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