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Committee backs bill requiring schools to offer voluntary Pledge of Allegiance each morning
Summary
The Senate Education Committee voted to give House Bill 1222 a favorable recommendation after hearing testimony from the bill sponsor, veterans groups, American Legion leadership and students urging reinstating a voluntary morning pledge in public schools.
House Bill 1222 would require local school boards to adopt a policy giving public school students the opportunity to voluntarily recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day. The bill would not compel participation and contains an immunity provision tied to recitation.
Representative Anna Novak, sponsor, told the committee the bill responds to variations across the state in whether schools open with a pledge and that the measure is intended to encourage reverence for the flag and patriotism without forcing students to participate. “Students are not required to participate,” Novak said. She said the bill is designed to be administratively simple; local boards can decide delivery (for example, an office announcement over the intercom) and there are no penalties in the statute for not instituting the pledge.
The bill drew supportive testimony from veterans and veterans’ organizations. Jim Nelson, legislative director of the North Dakota Veterans Legislative Council, described the pledge’s meaning to veterans and read a historical, interpretive version of the pledge during testimony. Mamie Havelka, commander of the North Dakota American Legion, said she would like to see the pledge restored in every school and noted some classrooms lack flags.
Students in the hearing room also addressed the committee. Alyssa Christiansen and Sabrina Haas, seniors from Napoleon Public School, said their school recites the pledge each morning and urged the committee to support the measure so students statewide would hear the pledge regularly.
Senators debated briefly before voting. Senator Gearhart moved a due‑pass motion for House Bill 1222; the motion passed on a roll call of 5 ayes, 0 nays, 1 absent. Senator Gearhart agreed to carry the bill.
Committee members said they supported restoring the pledge as an option while noting the statute would not force participation and that schools already have discretion to adopt local policies. The committee placed the bill on its calendar with a favorable recommendation.
