Students no longer say the Pledge of Allegiance in schools.

An image that’s being shared widely on social media reminiscences about the old days, and bemoans the political-correctness of contemporary times. 

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” it says. “My generation grew up reciting this every morning in school with my hand on my heart. They no longer do that for fear of offending someone! Let’s see how many Americans will re-post and not care about offending someone!”

More than 54,000 people have shared this post, which was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) 

Students can’t be forced to say the Pledge of Allegiance under a 1943 Supreme Court decision that found it violated their First Amendment rights.  

But, as CNN reported in 2019, it’s still “recited in schools across the US every day by students standing stiffly with their hands over their hearts.”

That year, an 11-year-old was arrested in Florida when he told a substitute teacher he would not stand for the pledge because he thought the American flag symbolized discrimination against Black people, according to CNN, though police said he was detained because he caused a disturbance at school, not because he wouldn’t say the pledge.

Other, more recent news coverage shows that students in other states also have the option to stand for the pledge. 

In August, an El Paso news station reported about how remote learning has affected students reciting the pledge. Some schools and teachers are not beginning the virtual day with the pledge, according to the station, but one elementary school begins its morning announcements with the pledge.

One parent said her children recited the pledge “every day in school last year.”

At Whittier Tech in Massachusetts, “each day, teachers will take attendance, classes will say the pledge of allegiance and announcements will be given,” according to a Sept. 18 press release from the high school about welcoming students back to campus. 

In Johnson City, Tenn., a news station broadcasts different school classes saying the pledge on school days.

We rate this Facebook post False.