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Committee holds bill to require daily pledge, Virgin Islands motto after legal and implementation concerns
Summary
The Committee on Education and Workforce Development voted to hold Bill 36-0067, which would require the Pledge of Allegiance and a Virgin Islands motto to be recited each school day, after testimony raised constitutional, administrative and instructional concerns. Supporters called the measure a brief civic practice; opponents urged policy, not a
The Committee on Education and Workforce Development on Wednesday held Bill 36-0067, an act to add a section to Title 17 requiring the Pledge of Allegiance and a Virgin Islands motto to be recited at the start of each public school day, after hearing testimony from education officials, the board of education and legal counsel.
Sponsor Senator Alma Francis Heiliger said the proposal is aimed at giving students a short, positive start to the school day. “Do you know how much time that took me? 13 seconds,” Senator Alma Francis Heiliger said, describing the motto she proposed as a brief routine to “set their mindset at the beginning of the day.”
The Virgin Islands Board of Education and Department of Education urged caution. Abigail Hendricks Kagan, representing the board, said the board “respectfully opposes the bill as drafted,” arguing the recitation belongs to…
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