Polls
Maine School District Restores Pledge Opportunity After Lawsuit
Liberty Check
- Falmouth High School failed to provide students with the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance for two years.
- A lawsuit filed by a father and son alleged the district violated state law and its own internal policies regarding daily patriotic rituals.
- Superintendent Steve Nolan confirmed the school has now set a designated time for the Pledge following the litigation.
The Falmouth School Department in Maine has finally bowed to legal pressure after a constitutional challenge from 10th-grader Clayton Hickey and his father. The lawsuit claimed the high school ignored a state statute requiring an opportunity for students to honor the flag daily.
Maine law dictates that school units must allow students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, though participation remains optional for the individual. For two years, this district seemingly bypassed that mandate, treating a fundamental civic duty as an afterthought.
“At Falmouth High School, students are welcome to say the Pledge of Allegiance if they choose,” Superintendent Steve Nolan stated.
“Now that this matter has been brought to our attention, we have taken steps to provide an opportunity during the school day for students who wish to say the Pledge of Allegiance to do so during a designated time.”
The family’s attorney, Jack Baldacci, noted that the district had ample time to correct this omission on its own but failed to act until the suit was filed. This victory highlights the necessity of active parental involvement in defending traditional American values within the public education system.
With a recent survey showing 70% of voters failing basic civics tests, the restoration of these rituals is a small but vital step toward national literacy. Patriotism should never be sidelined by administrative neglect or bureaucratic apathy.
The Constitution must be defended.
