Bill requiring schools to set aside time for pledge OK’d

Thursday, March 25, 1999 | 9:50 a.m.

Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, said AB144 is necessary because in many schools the pledge is not recited.

She said the Legislature begins each floor session with the pledge and students should have the same opportunity.

"We show our respect for the flag, not as Democrats or Republicans, conservatives or liberals, men or women, but as Americans," she said.

After the vote, Parnell said she was confident the bill also will receive Senate approval and become law July 1.

She said she received hundreds of messages on the bill from people who want the pledge recited in schools.

Parnell said the initial version of the bill was improperly written and read as if she opposed the Pledge of Allegiance. She said the opposite is true.

While the bill doesn't provide any exemptions from the pledge requirement, Parnell said U.S. Supreme Court decisions and existing laws permit Jehovah's Witnesses and other pupils to refuse to recite the pledge for matters of conscience.

A teacher for 21 years, Parnell said students can step out of the room or merely stand if they object to the recitation.

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