{"id":2580520,"date":"2026-03-16T18:04:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/father-sues-blue-state-school-district-on-behalf-of-his-son-over-pledge-of-allegiance\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T18:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T22:05:34","slug":"father-sues-blue-state-school-district-on-behalf-of-his-son-over-pledge-of-allegiance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/father-sues-blue-state-school-district-on-behalf-of-his-son-over-pledge-of-allegiance\/","title":{"rendered":"Father Sues Blue-State School District on Behalf of His Son Over Pledge of Allegiance"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffather-sues-blue-state-school-district-on-behalf-of-his-son-over-pledge-of-allegiance%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2580520&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A Maine father has filed a lawsuit against the Falmouth School Department and Superintendent Steve Nolan, alleging the district failed to provide students with an prospect to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the school day. The suit,brought on behalf of his son Clayton,a 10th-grader at Falmouth High School,cites a 2011 Maine statute that requires a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/high-school-students-attending-prom-received-branding-if-they-didnt-have-covid-19-vaccine\/\" title=\"... ... Attending Prom Received \u2018Branding\u2019 If They Didn\u2019t Have COVID-19 Vaccine\">school administrative unit<\/a> to allow every student the opportunity to recite the pledge at some point during a school day,while also stating that participation is optional. The plaintiff seeks compliance and also a letter of apology from the district. Local coverage and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >veterans\u2019 comments referenced<\/a> in the report emphasize the belief that patriotic expressions are important, while the case centers on what constitutes an \u201copportunity\u201d to recite the pledge, including whether it should occur over the intercom or in the classroom.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A father in Maine has filed a lawsuit against his son&rsquo;s school district, accusing them of failing to provide children an opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the school day.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed against the Falmouth School Department and Superintendent Steve Nolan, alleges that the district is violating Maine law, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/2026\/03\/12\/student-sues-falmouth-schools-for-not-offering-pledge-of-allegiance\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according <\/a>to the Portland Press Herald.<\/p>\n<p>The statute in question dates back to 2011 and is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mainelegislature.org\/legis\/statutes\/20-a\/title20-Asec4010.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted<\/a> on the legislature&rsquo;s official website.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A school administrative unit shall allow every student enrolled in the school administrative unit the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at some point during a school day in which students are required to attend,&rdquo; the statute reads. &ldquo;A school administrative unit may not require a student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiff, Christopher Hickey, reportedly filed the lawsuit on behalf of his son, Clayton, a 10th-grader who has attended Falmouth High School for two years.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>WGME-TV <a href=\"https:\/\/wgme.com\/news\/local\/falmouth-high-school-student-father-sue-school-district-over-pledge-of-allegiance-maine-middle-elementary-superintendent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cited<\/a> an affidavit from Clayton stating that neither he nor his classmates were ever given a chance to recite the pledge during the school day.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the school providing an opportunity for all students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in a structured way, Hickey also wants a letter of apology from the Falmouth School Department.<\/p>\n<p>The courts will likely have to determine what constitutes an &ldquo;opportunity to recite the Pledge;&rdquo; however, the lawsuit states that it has not been d over the school&rsquo;s intercom or led by teachers in the classroom, according to the Portland Press Herald.<\/p>\n<p>Local Army veterans <a href=\"https:\/\/wgme.com\/news\/local\/falmouth-high-school-student-father-sue-school-district-over-pledge-of-allegiance-maine-middle-elementary-superintendent\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spoke with<\/a> WGME-TV&nbsp;and said such expressions of patriotism are vital to a healthy nation.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A Maine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">high school<\/a> faces a lawsuit for not giving students the chance to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.<\/p>\n<p>Army veteran: &ldquo;You should always do the Pledge&hellip; It&rsquo;s part of being proud of our country.&rdquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Mkq0232nTV\">pic.twitter.com\/Mkq0232nTV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Brandon Straka #WalkAway (@BrandonStraka) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrandonStraka\/status\/2033245187326226700?\">March 15, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/billionaires-pastors-cowboys-break-ground-for-classic-colleges\/\" title=\"Billionaires, Pastors, Cowboys Break Ground For Classic Colleges\">students don&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t get enough citizenship instruction. And that&rsquo;s the least they can do, I think,&rdquo; said Army veteran Chris Winne. &ldquo;You know, it represents so much to not only veterans, but the entire community and our country. And so I don&rsquo;t see any bad in it, only good.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think you should always do the Pledge of Allegiance in the high school,&rdquo; Falmouth Army veteran James Richardson added. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what makes America America. That&rsquo;s part of [taking]&nbsp; pride in our country.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Maine father has filed suit against his son\u2019s school district, the Falmouth School Department and Superintendent Steve Nolan, claiming the district failed to give students an opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the school day. The lawsuit argues the district violates a 2011 Maine law that says a school must offer every student the chance to recite the Pledge sometime during a school day, though it also states students cannot be required to recite it. The plaintiff, Christopher Hickey, is acting on behalf of his son Clayton, a 10th-grader at Falmouth High School. The suit seeks, in addition to ensuring an opportunity, a letter of apology from the district. A central issue will be what constitutes an \u201copportunity\u201d to recite the Pledge, with the complaint alleging no pledge was provided over the intercom or in classrooms. The article also notes support from local veterans who say expressions of patriotism and citizenship instruction are important, though the court will determine the legal definition of an opportunity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2580521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Pledge-of-allegiance.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[42530,33332,34304,47872],"class_list":["post-2580520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-education-law","tag-first-amendment","tag-parental-rights","tag-pledge-of-allegiance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Pledge-of-allegiance.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2580520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2580524,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2580520\/revisions\/2580524"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2580521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2580520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2580520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2580520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}