Students in an Oquirrh Hills Middle School (West Jordan, Utah) classroom will no longer be reprimanded for refusing to recite the pledge of allegiance, thanks to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s involvement.
An Oquirrh Hills student contacted FFRF saying that on multiple occasions, a teacher had singled out a student for refusing to recite the pledge. Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel wrote to the school district superintendent on Nov. 13, 2013, stating that “Students should not be singled out, rebuked, told they must stand, or otherwise penalized for following their freedom of conscience. It is illegal to reprimand a student in any way for non-disruptively exercising his or her constitutional right to object to reciting the pledge of allegiance.”
The school district responded on Nov. 20, writing that they followed up on the matter and that it “have and will continue to teach and remind our students, faculty, and staff to foster and maintain an atmosphere of respect and tolerance in our classrooms and communities.”