Arizona Bills Require Public School Students To Recite Loyalty Oath to Constitution

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/26/1500011/arizona-bills-require-public-school-students-to-recite-loyalty-oaths/?mobile=nc

As written, the bill does not exempt atheist
students or those of different faiths from the requirement, though Thorpe has
pledged to amend the measure. “In that we had a tight deadline for dropping
our bills, I was not able to update the language,” he wrote in an e-mail to
the Arizona Republic. “Even though I want to encourage all of our students to
understand and respect our Constitution and constitutional form of
government, I do not want to create a requirement that students or parents
may feel uncomfortable with.”

A separate measure introduced by Thorpe’s
colleague would also “require all students in first through 12th grades” “to
say the pledge of allegiance each day.” Currently, “schools must set aside
time for the pledge each day, but students may choose whether to
participate.”

Constitutional experts warn that both
proposals are unconstitutional. As American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona
Public Policy Director Anjali Abraham explained, “You can’t require students
to attend school … and then require them to either pledge allegiance to the
flag or swear this loyalty oath in order to graduate. It’s a violation of the
First Amendment.”

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/26/1500011/arizona-bills-require-public-school-students-to-recite-loyalty-oaths/?mobile=nc

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