CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A Florida man is upset after his niece brought home a Pledge of Allegiance waiver that asked parents to sign and return the form if they’d like their child to “be excused from reciting” it.
It read:
“I understand my rights as a parent and I request that my child, noted above, be excused from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This request includes standing and placing his/her right hand over his/her heart.”
In frustration, Micah Brienen took to Facebook last Thursday.
“My niece brought this home from school today…What is happening to our country?!?” he said in the post.
Brienen’s sister-in-law returned the form with her daughter, writing the following in response:
“This is the dumbest thing I have ever read and I am so ashamed of this.”
The post has been shared more than 13,400 times.
Several days later, Brienen followed up his initial post with one asking his friends to contact the school’s superintendent about the issue and letting them know that he is up for reelection.
Snopes points out that this is not the first time outrage has appeared online about the form, noting that students in Florida have had the right to opt out of the pledge since 2000.
