A Pennsylvania school principal will no longer say “God bless America” after leading students in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Peter Brigg, the principal of Sabold Elementary School in Springfield, Pennsylvania, used to say “God Bless America” after leading students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day.
That will no longer happen because he was ordered to stop saying the phrase after the school district received a legal complaint.
A parent filed a complaint to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, claiming that the practice was against federal law.
In response, an attorney from the Freedom From Religion Foundation issued a letter to the district noting that by publicly saying “God Bless America,” Brigg was in direct violation of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition of government sponsoring religious messages.
To be clear, the District has not altered the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and has not prohibited students from deciding on their own, as their own form of self-expression, whether or not to state the words, “God Bless America” (or any other appropriate form of self-expression) upon completing the Pledge of Allegiance.”
The district said they understand people aren’t happy and stressed they never altered the recitation of the pledge. They also said students would still be able to say “God Bless America” after if they choose to do so.
“We understand that this is an important topic for many of our constituents; however, please understand that the District does not make the law. We follow it.”
The district released a statement explaining that it had put an end to the practice and that Brigg would no longer say “God Bless America” after reciting the pledge,
“Continuation of any practices that may be unlawful would only expose the District to litigation, which the local taxpayers would have to financially support,” the statement read.
Some parents were understanding of the move.
“I’m glad that our principal made the choice that he made by not saying it over the loud speaker. I think children are very impressionable,” Larisa Schreiber told KYW.
Other parents were frustrated by the decision.
“I try to instill in my kids everyday the sense of unity and community and patriotism and that’s what I’ll continue to do with my kids. And they will continue to say God Bless America,” Suzanne Hoffman said.
One parent attributed the decision to the district wanting to be politically correct.
“I mean what’s the next step? Are they going to come here when a student sneezes and the principal says, ‘God Bless You?'”
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