New Colorado law encourages pledge

DENVER, March 22 (UPI) -- Colorado Gov. Bill Owens has signed into law a bill encouraging schools to lead students in a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.

The law, which Owens signed Friday, requires school officials to provide a daily opportunity for students to recite the Pledge. It replaces a law passed last year requiring students in public schools to recite the Pledge daily, exempting non-students, students with religious objections and students whose parents oppose the practice. Teachers could decline only if they weren't citizens or had religious objections.

That law was declared unconstitutional by U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.