Friday September 6, 2013 marks the first day that Oakridge High School students and teachers will be exposed to a new Michigan Law concerning the
Pledge of Allegiance. Senate Bill 637 was signed into law on October 5, 2012, to take effect in the 2013/14 school year. The law states the each public school classroom and public school building must feature an American flag, and that public school students must have the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day while they are in school. This law does not compel students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This law does not apply to charter or religious schools.
- Go here for historical facts on the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Go here for a history on Senate Bill 637.
- Go here for local coverage of the implementation of Senate Bill 637.
- Go here for the first amendment to the Constitution. Ratified 1789.
- Go here for the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. Ratified 1868.
The Pledge in Room #112 – The law states that individual students must be provided an opportunity to say the Pledge of Allegiance. It is my hope that in room #112 not only do students have this choice, but that they also know exactly what the Pledge of Allegiance represents. I have set three goals for successful achievement of this State of Michigan directive. The first and most important is that all students are proactive in their choice to stand or not to stand. Nobody should have to look over-their-shoulder to see what their peers are doing. Know exactly what it is that is being read over the intercom. If you feel that you need to stand – then stand with pride. If you feel you need to sit – then sit with purpose. It is your call; little things matter in this world. Secondly, any individual who chooses to stand and say the Pledge should in no way be mocked or intimidated by another individual. Also, any individual who chooses to sit and not say the Pledge should in no way be mocked or intimidated by another individual. And finally, when the Pledge of Allegiance is read over the loud speaker in room #112 students must stand or sit silently or be in recitation of the Pledge, consequently respecting their fellow citizen / student’s right to free expression protected under the first and fourteenth amendments to the Constitution.
