High school student’s grade reportedly lowered for sitting during Pledge Of Allegiance
Leilani Thomas has been sitting through the Pledge of Allegiance since she was in second grade, but on Thursday, KXTV reported that a teacher had decided to lower her grade in punishment for her actions...
Leilani Thomas has been sitting through the Pledge of Allegiance since she was in second grade, but on Thursday, KXTV reported that a teacher had decided to lower her grade in punishment for her actions.
Thomas, who is Native American, has long been protesting the Pledge of Allegiance, ever since her parents explained to her what the pledge meant to them in relation to their heritage. But that day at Lower Lake High School, her teacher docked points from her participation grade for her longstanding protest.
“She told me I was being disrespectful and I was pretty mad,” Thomas said. “She was being disrespectful to me also, saying I was making bad choices, and I don’t have the choice to sit during the pledge.”
Thankfully, Konocti School District Superintendent Donna Becnel has come out in defense of Thomas as well as one other student who chose to sit during the pledge, saying that it is their right under the First Amendment to choose whether or not to stand.
“They have the same rights when they walk into the schoolhouse than anybody else does,” Becnel said.
Thomas and the other student were able to switch teachers after the district learned about the incident.
