shall wave “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!” http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/anthem.html. As pointed out by the Court, California law requires public elementary schools to “conduc[t] . . . appropriate patriotic exercises” at the beginning of the schoolday, and notes that the “giving of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America shall satisfy the requirements of this section.” Cal. Educ. Code Ann. §52720 (West 1989). The School District complies with this requirement by instructing that “[ejach elementary school class recite the [Pjledge of [A]llegiance to the [F]lag once each day.” App. 149-150. Students who object on religious (or other) grounds may abstain from the recitation. West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U. S. 624, 642 (1943) (<HOLDING>). Notwithstanding the voluntary nature of the
holding that students refusal to stand during the pledge of allegiance was constitutionally protected by first amendment holding that the government may not compel school students to recite the pledge holding that school district policy requiring that students obtain the review and approval of school officials prior to distributing any written material violated free speech rights of students holding that school could not compel students to salute american flag holding that a public school cannot compel students to perform the pledge of allegiance