A Damascus High School student says she was “harassed and intimidated by teachers and an assistant principal for refusing to stand” during the Pledge of Allegiance.
Tenth-grader Enidris Siurano-Rodriguez said she was sent to the assistant principal’s office on April 4 for not taking part in the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the ACLU of Maryland, which is representing the family.
Siurano-Rodriguez’s biology teacher asked her to stand during the Pledge, but the student had been sitting “as a way of showing her disagreement with the United States government policies toward Puerto Rico,” where her family is from, said an ACLU media release.
Montgomery County schools spokesman Dana Tofig said school officials have received the letter, which was sent Tuesday, and will look into the matter.
“Our schools do recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the day, but students are not required to stand or participate,” Tofig said.
A 1943 U.S. Supreme Court decision and Maryland state law say public schools cannot force students to salute the flag.
