Portage Times

Ohio lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would require K-12 schools to publicly post their policies on the oral recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Currently, Ohio schools are mandated by law to have a policy regarding whether students recite the pledge.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gail Pavliga (R-Atwater) and Rep. Tracy Richardson (R-Marysville), stipulates that school districts must make these policies publicly available and post them on district websites if they exist. The proposed legislation also ensures that school policies cannot compel students to recite the pledge or allow any form of intimidation or coercion from students or staff.

Pavliga emphasized her patriotic values and noted a general lack of awareness about national symbols like the anthem or appropriate gestures during its performance. "I just think that the school policies need to be there, and then the parents as taxpayers need to understand what the policies of those schools are so they can then reflect what they would like to do with their children," she stated.

The bill has not yet been assigned to a committee, but Pavliga is optimistic it will pass before the legislative session ends in December, as it requires only a minor amendment—three sentences—to the Ohio Revised Code.

The tradition of students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance dates back to an 1892 event commemorating Christopher Columbus's voyage to America, according to the Free Speech Center. Over time, religious objections emerged; Mennonites opposed it in 1918 due to perceived promises to bear arms, and Jehovah's Witnesses objected in the 1930s on grounds of idolatry related to saluting the flag.

In 1943, following incidents where Jehovah's Witnesses' children were expelled for refusing to participate in the pledge, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that students could not be compelled to salute the flag.

Erin Glynn reports for USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, serving various news organizations across Ohio including Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, and Akron Beacon Journal.