LCS Pledge of Allegiance form axed after outcry

Ryan Dailey, Democrat staff writer

A form allowing Leon County students to opt out of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance sparked social media backlash, prompting the district to scrap the move. 

Facebook user Micah Brienen posted a photo of the form he said was brought home by his niece who attends Killearn Lakes Elementary. Across the form is written in red ink: "This is the dumbest thing I have ever read. I am so ashamed of this." By early Tuesday afternoon, the post had been shared nearly 3,500 times.   

A photo of the LCS request form taken by Facebook user Micah Brienen has garnered much attention on social media.

The form’s purpose, according to LCS, was to fulfill a state law passed this spring mandating that language informing parents of their rights concerning the Pledge of Allegiance be included directly in the student handbook. LCS generally urges parents to access the handbook online, but the plan was to produce a number of physical copies.

The forms were printed with the intention of distributing them to 3,500 or 10 percent of LCS students. The district estimates only 400 of those copies were sent out.

On Monday, as soon as LCS officials began hearing from the community, Superintendent Jackie Pons said he decided to remove it.

“It was yesterday on the way to work I received a phone call from an individual related to the agreement form. When I got there and looked at the form, it was the first time I was aware of it, I pulled it,” Pons said Tuesday.

A release from LCS announcing the decision to scrap the form sent Tuesday morning, leads with the statement: “Leon County Schools values patriotism, civic responsibility, and the Pledge of Allegiance."

The student handbook was revised as of Monday at 9:30 a.m. and now includes language directly from the state statute rather than that drafted up by LCS staff. The release includes the excerpt from Florida Statute 1003.44: "each student shall be informed by a written notice published in the student handbook or a similar publication pursuant to s. 1006.07(2) that the student has the right not to participate in reciting the pledge."

“I don’t feel like the agreement sent the right message to the community, that the same thing could be achieved by publishing the statute,” Pons said.

In an email interview with the Democrat, Brienen said while he appreciates students' right to free speech, he also believes the Pledge should be respected. 

"First, I want to be very clear that I do not believe a child should be forced to recite the Pledge or stand up. It is their right to opt out, but I do personally feel it is respectful to stand if you are physically able, even if you want to do so in silence," Brienan wrote.

"Although more must be done to defend our country's values and traditions, what's next? no American flags in school? It's just another example of progressive politics destroying our school system."

Pons expressed frustration with the state mandates.

“When they pass a statute that requires us to put notifications in a handbook, no matter how you do that, it creates issues,” Pons said. “We changed the student handbook to make sure we included the language of the state. If somebody wants to not participate they can provide their own note.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and one thing I’ve learned is you can’t always please everybody - but you need to be able to listen to everyone.”