Boy, 6, Takes Knee During Pledge, Gets Told To Stand: Report

WESLEY CHAPEL, FL — When a first-grade student at Wiregrass Elementary School decided to take a knee during the Pledge of Allegiance Monday morning, he inadvertently kicked off a controversy that now has Pasco County Schools officials reminding administrators, educators and parents of Florida laws on the subject.

“The school board policy allows a parent to request in writing that their student be exempt from participating in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Linda Cobbe, district spokeswoman, told Patch. “The policy mirrors state law.” (For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Land O' Lakes Patch. Click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Children who do not have written permission, however, “are required to stand with their hand over their heart and recite the pledge," Cobbe said. "If they do have a request, they can sit or kneel.”

The 6-year-old boy’s decision to kneel came one day after players across the NFL took to their knees during the National Anthem. The uptick in NFL players kneeling followed President Donald Trump’s statement that players who chose to do so should be fired.

Like Land O' Lakes Patch on Facebook and keep reading below:

At the league's first game in London on Sept. 24, where the Baltimore Ravens were playing the Jacksonville Jaguars, a couple dozen players took a knee during the playing of the national anthem. Jacksonville's owner, Shahid Khan, stood in a line shoulder-to-shoulder with his players, all of their arms interlocked in solidarity. Ravens coach John Harbaugh did the same.

The NFL National Anthem protests began last season when Colin Kaepernick took a knee to protest police brutality. The popularity of the movement reached a fevered pitch over the past week after Trump took to Twitter to admonish players for taking part.

The Pasco County student's spin on the protest was brought to light when the boy’s mother contacted ABC Action News. The station reported the mother, who was not named, shared a text from the teacher that explained what happened during the pledge that morning. The mother expressed dismay at the teacher telling her son “stand up and to stop it.”

The mother also reportedly told the station that she doesn’t believe the school district takes inclusion seriously.

It is unclear if the Pasco County child’s mother will write a note exempting her son from the pledge in the future.

Image via Shutterstock