ACLU to school: No 'God bless America' after pledge

[rug]

The Associated Press
Posted: Tuesday, January 5, 2016, 4:38 PM

HADDON HEIGHTS, N.J. (AP) - A southern New Jersey elementary school will no longer require its students to say "God bless America" following the Pledge of Allegiance after the state's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union asked the school to stop the practice.

But Glenview Elementary School Principal Sam Sassano said that officials won't prevent the school's 265 students from saying the phrase, which he said has become part of the Haddon Heights school's culture since 9/11.

The ACLU's New Jersey chapter sent a letter to the school, saying that the U.S. Supreme Court halted the practice in a 1962 ruling. ACLU-NJ's legal director Ed Barocas said the issue is with the context of the speech, not the speech itself.

"This was not students' speech, this was a daily recitation at an official school assembly led by the school officials," he said.

http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20160105_ap_f6b1cfd30f4845bcb2299ae7d080e11b.html

[mwrguy]

1. Good.