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Public school students in Michigan would recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily in the classroom if a Senate bill is passed into law.

The bill, introduced by Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, would require a school district to have an American flag in every classroom and mandate that every student recite the Pledge of Allegiance each school day...

"I think some of the biggest challenges you can create is when you go 'ready, fire, aim' and not take the time to understand what your target is or what you're trying to deal with," Mark Thomas, principal at Northview High School in Grand Rapids, said. "The policy that usually sticks is policy that is well thought out and can be explained and people can see the value and then it can garner support."

The bill would require schools to purchase a flag for every classroom.

"Right now when it comes to the challenge we have with resources is this going to be perceived as a priority for our resources?" Thomas said...

Thomas said instruction time would take a hit if disagreements about the requirement arise.

"I do think that a lot of time would be spent trying to sort out those issues and that time spent on that is time taken away from instruction in the classroom and learning needs," he said. "How much time do you want to spend in trying to work on that as opposed to working on academic achievement?"

Senator Kahn did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

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In West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the Supreme Court ruled that requiring the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments...

The Supreme Court found two constitutional violations. The state law violated the Fourteenth Amendment's requirement of due process and the First Amendment's requirements of religious freedom and free speech upon the state. At heart, said the Court, were the principles of freedom of thought and government by consent. Critically, the majority observed a right of individuals to be free from official pressure to state a particular opinion, including that they honor their government. The opinion declared that "no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein."