For generations, the school day in America started the same simple way. Students stood up, faced the flag, and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. It took maybe 20 seconds. No drama, no controversy, just a daily reminder that we all share a country and a responsibility to it.
Apparently that tradition is now optional in more places than people realize.
In Maine, a father is taking legal action after discovering that his son’s high school has not been providing students the opportunity to say the pledge at all. Christopher Hickey has filed a lawsuit against the Falmouth School Department, arguing that the district is ignoring both state law and its own policies.
Under Maine statute, schools must provide students the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each day. The law does not force anyone to participate. Students can sit quietly if they choose. But schools are still required to provide the opportunity.
According to Hickey, Falmouth High School has not been doing that for years.
His son Clayton has attended the school for two years, and Hickey says the pledge has never been offered during that time. What makes the situation even more confusing is that the pledge is still recited at both Falmouth Elementary School and the town’s middle school.
Somehow the tradition disappears the moment students reach high school.
Attorney Jack Baldacci, who is representing Hickey, says the case is straightforward.
“The lawsuit highlights a straightforward violation of Maine law and the Falmouth School Department’s own policy,” Baldacci said. Hickey is asking the court to force the district to comply with state law and reinstate a structured opportunity for students to say the pledge each day.
The lawsuit asks the Cumberland County Superior Court to declare the school department in violation of the law and issue a permanent injunction requiring the district to follow the statute.
To be clear, no one involved in this case is arguing that students should be forced to participate. Courts settled that issue decades ago. Participation in the pledge is voluntary.
But eliminating the opportunity entirely is a different matter.
Ironically, many schools across Maine actually brought the pledge back after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The attacks reminded people that national unity and civic identity were not abstract ideas. They were real things worth reinforcing in the next generation.
Over time, though, some schools appear to have quietly drifted away from the practice again.
Christopher Hickey’s lawsuit is now forcing that issue into the open. His goal is not complicated. He wants the school to follow the law and give students the chance to participate in a simple civic tradition that has been part of American life for more than a century.
Judging from reactions online, a lot of Americans agree with him. Many parents believe schools should spend less time debating whether patriotism is outdated and more time reminding students why the country they live in is worth respecting in the first place.