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ACLU Preserves Rights of Students in Landmark Florida Case; Students Have Right Not to Recite Pledge
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, June 01, 2006
CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler, Communications Director, 305-576-2337, ext 16
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida applauds today’s ruling by the U.S. District Court striking down the Florida law requiring students to stand and recite the pledge of allegiance. The pledge will continue to be recited in public school classrooms, but the practice of forcing all students to stand and recite the pledge, which is unconstitutional, will be halted.
The case was filed by the ACLU of Florida on behalf of Cameron Frazier who was punished and publicly ridiculed by his Palm Beach teacher, Cynthia Alexandre, last December when he respectfully declined to stand for the pledge. The U.S. District Court declared Florida Statute 1003.44(1) and the school district’s policy unconstitutional under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Palm Beach School District will have to “rescind any custom or practice that requires a parent’s permission before being excused from reciting the pledge,” according to the judgment handed down today by U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp.
“The pledge will continue to be recited in schools, but will no longer be forced upon all students,” said attorney James Green, Legal Panel Chair of the ACLU of Florida’s Palm Beach County Chapter. “This case is about protecting the rights of all students—including those who choose not to stand and recite the pledge.
“Cameron Frazier stood up for his rights, sued the school district and his teacher, and consequently has defended his and every other student’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to refuse to stand for the pledge in school—while maintaining the rights of other students to recite the pledge,” Green added. “This is a win for everyone and Cameron is a brave American.”
Frazier was seventeen years of age and a student at Boynton Beach Community High School when the case was filed on December 22, 2005. The case was Cameron Frazier v. Cynthia Alexandre et al. James K. Green, Esq. and Randall C. Marshall, Esq. were co-counsel for the case.
“Compelling young people to salute the flag, under threat of punishment for refusal to do so, has been unconstitutional in America for over six decades,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director for the ACLU of Florida. “It is long past due for the unconstitutional law in Florida to be struck down and the conscience and rights of young people to be respected by school officials.”
About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.
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