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Most students come home from the first day of school with supply lists, syllabi and permission slips, but a Florida school system added a controversial form to the mix. Leon County asked parents whether their children should recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I understand my rights as a parent and I request that my child, noted above, be excused from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance," the waiver states. "This request includes standing and placing his/her right hand over his/her heart."
The surprising handout went viral this week on Facebook, with an honest opinion written in place of a signature. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever read and I'm ashamed of this," it says, and lots of people agree. The photo soon earned over 26,000 shares as commenters condemned the opt-out form.
"Our flag is the symbol of our country," an opponent wrote on Facebook. "Pledging your allegiance to our American flag means that you pledge to uphold our values of liberty and justice for all."
The massive backlash forced school administrators to apologize, but the option still stands. The school released the following statement to explain:
Leon County Schools values patriotism, civic responsibility and the Pledge of Allegiance. A change to Florida law this year requires all school districts to publish in the student code of conduct booklet the students' right to not participate in reciting the pledge of allegiance. In complying with the change in law, our staff developed a form for parents to use to exercise that right. Superintendent Pons received several messages from the community in regards to this process and — upon further inspection — made the decision to remove the form and revise the code of conduct booklet. We apologize for any confusion the form may have caused. We understand that approximately 400 paper copies were distributed before the superintendent stopped the process."
That new Florida statute does require schools to notify students about "the right not to participate," but staying silent isn't anything new. The U. S. Supreme Court ruled in 1943 that mandating public schoolchildren to salute the flag violates the First Amendment.
"Most people assume that this a new prohibition, but almost everyone alive today went to school with the 'opt out' ability as part of their education," one commenter wrote. "The very thing that many of you claim ('this is America') is what allows people to opt out. History is a wonderful subject."
[h/t WTXL
