February 25, 2004
By: Don French
Website: http://www.1st-in-flags.com
Pledges of allegiance to national and state flags added to minute-of-silence bill
Texas students constitutional right to reflect, meditate or pray in school took another step forward on March 27 when members of the Senate Committee on Education unanimously approved Senate Bill 83.
The approved bill differed from the one I filed in November. After listening to constituents and looking at other minute-of-silence bills, I changed Senate Bill 83 to require the recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag and the pledge of allegiance to the Texas flag as well. Many Texans I talked with mistakenly believe that students recite the pledge of allegiance each day as they did when they attended school. This is no longer the case.
Students may recite the pledge, but it is not required. They also may have a minute to reflect or meditate, but cannot be told they may pray. This may seem to be a minor point since the Education Code currently allows for a moment of silence, but the exclusion of the word pray has been a burr under the saddle of millions of Texans since the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that prayer in public schools was unconstitutional.
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About
The Author:
Don French is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-flags.com.
The flags of the world are symbols of recognition full of beauty and color for each country.
