Submitted by Aclu of Oregon on February 7, 2012 - 2:04pm
By Emily Garber
Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during morning announcements is just part of the school-day routine for many students. Yet, for other students, the choice to remain seated and silent during the Pledge is an important exercise of their rights to freedom of speech and religion. Jeff Mason, a fifth grade teacher at Highland Elementary School in Reedsport, Oregon, battled for his students’ right to remain respectfully seated during the Pledge for twelve long years before he called the ACLU of Oregon. Although federal law, Oregon law, and Reedsport School District policy all prohibit compelling public school students to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance, faculty and staff members at Highland Elementary School routinely forced their students to stand during the daily recitation of the Pledge, singling out students for public embarrassment if they attempted to invoke their right to remain seated.
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Submitted by Aclu of Oregon on September 29, 2011 - 2:32pm
By Sarah Armstrong, Outreach Coordinator
In Oregon, people not only enjoy the freedom of speech, assembly, and religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but also a more broadly interpreted “freedom of expression” in the state constitution. Oregonians have repeatedly said they do not want government deciding what they can read, see or hear - so naturally, we love Banned Books Week! It is the perfect opportunity to exercise two of our most fundamental rights: the freedom of speech, and the right to assemble.
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