Editorial: Pledging a new policy

Thursday, Aug. 31, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

One of Clark County's magnet high schools attracted attention from the American Civil Liberties Union for a policy that called for referring to a school administrator the names of students who refused to recite the "Pledge of Allegiance."

According to a story in Wednesday's Las Vegas Sun, the teacher handbook for Advanced Technologies Academy includes a policy that says students may refuse to recite the pledge. But it also calls for teachers to refer the names of such students to an "administrator over discipline," who is to determine the nature of each student's conscientious objection.

An anonymous Clark County School District employee tipped off the ACLU, which in turn contacted the Sun. Karen Diamond, A-Tech's new principal, called the policy "antiquated" and said it should be stricken from the handbook. She will not require her students to obey any policy on the issue other than the one already set by the School District. The district allows students to opt out of saying the pledge, so long as they are respectful while others are exercising their option to participate.

Diamond made a good call in rescinding this Draconian policy. Charles Haynes, a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Virginia, told the Sun that students cannot be forced to explain why they choose not to recite the pledge. Haynes called the A-Tech policy "intimidating" and noted that a student has the constitutional right to refuse to salute the flag without disciplinary action. The School District's associate superintendent of education services said the policy was poorly worded.

If nothing else the discussion has given A-Tech teachers an opportunity for a real-life civics lesson about the freedom of speech guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. The right to speak freely not only allows us to say what we believe, but it also grants us the privilege of saying nothing at all.