From the ECS State Policy Database Civic Education--Pledge of Allegiance

This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. State Status/Date Level Summary MI Signed into law 09/2012 P-12 "Pledge of Allegiance" in public schools H.B. 4934 Beginning with the 2013-2014 school year, the board of a school district or intermediate school district or board of directors of a public school academy must ensure that an opportunity to recite the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States is off... More... ME Signed into law 05/2011 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance H.P. 842 Requires a school administrative unit to 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. Provides that a school admini... More... GA Signed into law 05/2010 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance in Required Curriculum S.B. 518 Requires study of the pledge of allegiance to the U.S. and Georgia flag as a part of the required studies regarding American institutions and ideals. http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2009_10/pdf/sb518.pdf... More... OH Signed into law 07/2009 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 1 - Section 3313.602 From DOE summary of H.B. 1: Prohibits school districts from preventing a teacher from having students recite the Pledge of Allegiance in the teacher's classroom. Prohibits school districts from altering the Pledge of Allegiance from the wording set forth in th... More... OK Signed into law 04/2009 P-12 Founding Documents; Religious Materials H.B. 1756 Directs each school district to adopt a policy, with grade-level-appropriate instructional levels, that assures that all students are encouraged, and have the opportunity, to read and study the founding documents of America that are pertinent to understanding ... More... CA Signed into law 09/2008 P-12 civic education S.B. 1274 Requires that, when pupils are instructed with regard to the words of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America as part of patriotic exercises, the school provide a combination of the giving of the pledge and the instruction describe... More... WA Signed into law 03/2008 P-12 History and Government Required Content H.B. 2781 Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year, disrticts must ensure that history and government courses include the following content: 1. Commerce in Washington and Washington's place in the global economy; 2. The Washington State Constitution and Washington polit... More... NC Signed into law 07/2006 P-12 Display of U.S. and North Carolina Flag S.B. 700 Directs local boards of education, charter schools, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and the North Carolina school of science and mathematics to require the display of the united states and North Carolina flags and to require recitation of the pledge of ... More... IN Signed into law 05/2005 P-12 Display of Flag, Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 332 Requires a United States flag to be displayed in each classroom of a school corporation. Requires a school corporation to provide a daily opportunity for students to voluntarily recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Provides an exemption for students who choose (or... More... CO Signed into law 03/2004 P-12 Recitation of Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 1002 Amends the Pledge of Allegiance statute to make the statute constitutional as required by the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in the 1992 decision of Sherman v Community Consolidated School District 21 of Wheeling Township;provides an opportunity for element... More... CO Signed into law 06/2003 P-12 The Pledge of Allegiance Daily Recitation H.B. 1368 Creates a requirement for the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance in each public school in the state. http://www.leg.state.co.us/2003a/inetcbill.nsf/fsbillcont/92F78D48B9E0622D87256D09006210EF?Open&file=1368_enr.pdf... More... MN Signed into law 05/2003 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance S.F. 287 Effective 2003-04 school year and thereafter, requires recitation of the pledge of allegiance in all public schools, including charter schools, at least once a week. Allows a local board or charter school board of directors to waive this requirement by annual ... More... TX Signed into law 05/2003 P-12 Observance of One Minute of Silence S.B. 83 Requires the board of trustees of each school district to provide for the observance of one minute of silence during each school day at each school in the district. Also requires local boards to require require students, once during each school day at each sc... More... AR Signed into law 04/2003 P-12 The Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 2388 Requires the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance by all public school students. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2003/public/HB2388.pdf... More... UT Signed into law 03/2003 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance in Public Schools S.B. 105 The pledge of allegiance to the flag must be recited at the beginning of the day in each elementary public school and once a week at the beginning of a school day in each public secondary school in the state. http://bb.utahsenate.org/perl/bb/bb_find.pl... More... PA Signed into law 12/2002 P-12 Display of the Flag H.B. 592 Requires boards of directors to ensure that schools to display the U.S. flag (private, parochial and public schools). The flag must be displayed in every classroom, and schools must provide for the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance or National Anth... More... TN Signed into law 07/2002 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 2599 Each board of education shall require the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance in each classroom in the school system in which a flag is displayed. Each district is encouraged to have a flag in each classroom and patriotic, fraternal, and other organiz... More... IL Signed into law 07/2002 P-12 High School Recitation of Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 1634 Requires the Pledge of Allegiance to be recited each school day by pupils in elementary and secondary educational institutions supported or maintained in whole or in part by public funds. (Statute previously required only elementary school pupils to recite th... More... CT Signed into law 06/2002 P-12 Bullying and Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 5425 Requires local and regional boards to establish policies addressing bullying in the schools. Policies must include components set out in legislation, including a system enabling students to anonymously report acts of bullying to teachers and school administrat... More... MO Signed into law 06/2002 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 718 Requires every public school to ensure that the Pledge of Allegiance is recited at least once a week in every student's class. Students are not required to participate.... More... MN Vetoed 05/2002 P-12 Recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and Instruction in Civics Education and Flag Etiquette H.B. 2598 Requires recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance one or more times each week in all public and charter schools. Requires all public and charter schools to annually devote time to civics education that includes the history and reasons for reciting the pledge. R... More... NH Signed into law 05/2002 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 1446 Establishes the New Hampshire School Patriot Act which requires that school districts authorize a period of time during the school day for the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Pupil participation in the recitation of the pledge of allegiance shall be vo... More... MS Signed into law 03/2002 P-12 Display of U.S. Flag and Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 2321 Display of United States flag and Pledge of Allegiance; required in all public school classrooms.... More... SD Signed into law 02/2002 P-12 Flag and Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 94 Permits the posting or display of the United States flag and giving the pledge of allegiance within public schools in the State.... More... AL Signed into law 09/2001 P-12 Patriotic Education H.J.R. 152C Relates to urging the Boards of Education to incorporate patriotic education as part of the daily Pledge of Allegiance.... More... OK Signed into law 05/2001 P-12 Moment of Silence, Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 128 Relates to schools; designates November 11 as Veterans Day; requires public schools to conduct and observe Veterans Day programs; allows schools to conduct a moment of silence for certain purpose; requires certain instruction in United States flag etiquette an... More... KS Signed into law 04/2001 P-12 Use and Display of US Flag in Public Schools H.B. 2105 Concerns the use and display of the flag of the United States of America in public schools. It shall be the duty of the state board of education to prepare program providing for patriotic exercises for public schools. The program of patriotic observation of e... More... VA Signed into law 03/2001 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance S.B. 1331 Requires all students to learn the Pledge of Allegiance and to demonstrate such knowledge and requires each school board to call for the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in each classroom of the school division and to ensure that an American flag i... More... CA Vetoed 08/2000 P-12 Daily Pledge of Allegiance A.B. 1747 Provides that the recitation of a specified portion of the Declaration of Independence would satisfy the requirement of existing law which requires that appropriate patriotic exercises be conducted in every public elementary and secondary school each day .... More... ID Signed into law 04/2000 P-12 Display of the Flag; Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 655 Provides that the United States flag shall be displayed in every public school classroom; provides that every public school shall offer the pledge of allegiance or the national anthem at the beginning of each school day; provides that no pupil who objects shal... More... AK Signed into law 03/2000 P-12 Pledge of Allegiance H.B. 192 Relates to the pledge of allegiance by public school students.... More...