Texas AG opposes student who didn't stand for Pledge of Allegiance

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intervened to oppose a teenage student who sued her school for expelling her for refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

The lawsuit was filed last year by then-17-year-old India Landry after she was expelled by the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, near Houston. Landry claims the expulsion violated her First Amendment rights, while the school district argues it has the right to compel a child to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance under state law.

Paxton has filed an intervention to side with the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

"Requiring the pledge to be recited at the start of every school day has the laudable result of fostering respect for our flag and a patriotic love of our country," Paxton said in a statement. "This case is about providing for the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance while respecting the parental right to direct the education of children. The district court should uphold the Education Code and the right of parents to determine whether their children will recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

Landry's attorney, Randall L.Kallinen, told the Houston Chronicle that it's rare for Paxton to intervene in cases and said his motive is likely not for patriotic love.

"The reason he's challenging this case is that it's election time," Kallinen said. "It's an attempt to rally the troops."

Paxton is up for re-election in November.

At the time Landry was expelled from school, she told KHOU-TV she hadn't stood for the Pledge of Allegiance for a long time, but school officials didn't punish her until last year and alluded to similar protests by NFL players against police brutality.

"They were making rude comments saying 'This isn't the NFL, you won't do this here,'" India said.

"I don't think that the flag is what it says it's for, for liberty and justice and all that. It's not obviously what's going on in America today."