Voluntary?

Quote:

ACLU Concerned With School Pledge Policy
Wed Apr 2, 5:27 PM ET
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BELLINGHAM, Mass. - Civil libertarians are admonishing a school for telling parents when their children don't stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.



"It seems to me a form of harassment," Ron Madnick, director of the Worcester chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites), said Wednesday.

Madnick said some students at Bellingham High School have been taken out of class and sent to the principal's office for refusing to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance as a way of protesting the war in Iraq (news - web sites). He sent a letter to superintendent T.C. Mattocks on Wednesday and is waiting for a response.

Mattocks said students were not called out of class, but acknowledged that school officials notify parents of students who don't stand for the pledge.

Refusing to stand during the ceremony does not violate a school rule, Mattocks said. But he said students are expected to stand and to also obey a moment of silence every morning.

"They are not disciplined for not standing," Mattocks said. "But it's the school's responsibility to communicate with parents about a student's behavior."

Madnick said he's not sure how many students have refused to stand for the pledge and doesn't know how old they are. He said he has not spoken with the students.



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