Houston High School Expels Student for Sitting During The Pledge of Allegiance
- Matthew Amend
- Oct 11, 2017
- 2 min read
India Landry, a seventeen year old student at Windfern High School in Houston Texas was immediately expelled by the school's principal after she refused to stand when the Pledge of Allegiance was played over the school intercom. Landry has said:
"[The principal] asked me to, and I said I wouldn’t. And then she said 'Well, you’re kicked out of here.”
Landry, her family, and her attorney Randall Kallinen filed a lawsuit against the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District and Landry's high school principal. Kallinen has claimed that "Students cannot be instantly expelled except for being a danger" and believes that Landry's expulsion is a violation of her First Amendment Right.
Another interesting aspect to this story is that this was not the first time Landry had refused to stand. The report said "she had [refused to stand] for a year and a half, through six different teachers." This was just the first time she had done so in front of the principal.
Martha Strother, the principal, has since reversed her decision, and allowed Landry to return to school. However, they may proceed with the case.
Windfern High School's Logo
The first thing that came to mind after I read this article was whether or not Landry and her family had any ground to stand on. After doing some quick research I learned that Windfern is a public high school. Therefore, they are bound to respect the constitution.
Had it been a private institution, Windfern could have relied on the State Action Doctrine that stands for the proposition that without government involvement, no constitutional claim can be made.
Additionally, had Strother maintained her decision, a strong case precedent would work against her favor. A court case from 1943 stated that
"The action of the local authorities in compelling the flag salute and pledge transcends constitutional limitations on their power and invades the sphere of intellect and spirit which it is the purpose of the First Amendment to our Constitution to reserve from all official control."
The link to the original article can be found here.
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