But the court left uncertain the question of whether a mature student may refuse or say the pledge without parental guidance.

The court, in a ruling Wednesday, upheld the right of a former student, Cameron Frazier, not to recite the pledge, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported. Frazier, then a junior at Boynton Beach High School, sued in 2005 because he said his math teacher openly criticized him for refusing to stand for the pledge.

Under the 1942 state law, public school students must recite the pledge every day unless their parents request in writing that they not say the pledge.

The appeals court favored parental rights over the free speech of students, finding that students whose parents have requested an abstention cannot say the pledge with their classmates even if they want to. A lower court had ruled that the parental request part of the law is unconstitutional because of its restrictions on free speech.

However, the appeals court said that a mature student's own wishes should be considered.