A Maine school district has reinstated the Pledge of Allegiance at a local high school to settle a lawsuit filed by a father in March, local media reported.
In a suit filed on March 3, parent Christopher Hickey accused the Falmouth school district and Superintendent Steve Nolan of violating state law and district guidelines by failing to provide his son, Clayton, with the option to recite the pledge at school, according to the Portland Press Herald. The March lawsuit asked the Cumberland County Superior Court to issue an injunction requiring the high school to comply with state law.
The paper reported Wednesday that staff at Falmouth High School have implemented an optional recitation of the pledge at the school, in accordance with the 2011 state law.
“A school administrative unit shall allow every student enrolled in the school administrative unit the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at some point during a school day in which students are required to attend. A school administrative unit may not require a student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance,” section 4010 of Chapter 201 of Title 20-A of the Maine Revised Statutes says.
Falmouth School Department Superintendent Steve Nolan told the Press Herald Wednesday that the district “remains committed to maintaining school practices that uphold the law, respect individual student rights, and foster a respectful learning environment for all students.”
Reached for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Nolan could not confirm whether the lawsuit has been settled, but did say the school has taken action. “At Falmouth High School, students are welcome to say the Pledge of Allegiance if they choose. Now that this matter has been brought to our attention, we have taken steps to provide an opportunity for students who wish to say the Pledge of Allegiance to do so at a designated time during the school day,” he said.
The Press Herald spoke with Jack Baldacci, an attorney for the Hickey family, who said, “We are glad the district is now complying, and we hope this marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to the robust civic education every student deserves.”
The optional recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in Maine schools resumed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks by the radical Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda that hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon, according to the Press Herald. In 2015, a local controversy over the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance was resolved when South Portland High School created a written procedure in which the student body president would say, “I now invite you to rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance” after an online petition gathered 86 signatures, the Press Herald reported.
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