A 14-year-old Palestinian American student is suing a Michigan teacher and school district, alleging her First Amendment rights were violated when she was pressured to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance during a classroom recitation.
The lawsuit, filed June 25 in U.S. District Court in Detroit, names Carissa Soranno, a teacher at East Middle School, and the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district. According to the complaint, the student—identified only as D.K.—chose to remain seated during the pledge as a form of protest against the U.S. government's support of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The lawsuit, filed with support from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan and the Arab American Civil Rights League, claims Soranno responded by telling the student, “Since you live in this country and enjoy its freedom, if you don’t like it, you should go back to your country.”
The student reportedly sat quietly while her classmates stood for the pledge on January 6. The teacher allegedly said her actions were disrespectful to the U.S. military and the flag. The district later issued Soranno a corrective notice, stating she had violated district policy by expressing personal views on why students should stand for the pledge. The lawsuit claims Soranno continued to single D.K. out, telling her on January 9 that she was being disrespectful and should be ashamed.
Since the incidents, the student has reportedly experienced emotional distress, increased anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and academic decline.
Bonitsu Kitaba, interim legal director for the ACLU of Michigan, emphasized the importance of free expression in schools: “The right to freely speak—or not speak—is a form of protest that is fundamental to a well-functioning democracy—even when its exercise creates controversy or makes others uncomfortable.”
Nabih Ayad, an attorney with the Arab American Civil Rights League, described the teacher’s alleged comments as "disturbing," adding that no student should be reprimanded for exercising their constitutional rights.
The lawsuit seeks damages and a court ruling affirming that the teacher's actions were unconstitutional.
The issue of students' rights regarding the Pledge of Allegiance has been addressed in past legal precedent. In the 1943 case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional to compel public school students to recite the pledge.
A spokesperson for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools did not immediately respond to media inquiries, and Soranno has not returned calls for comment.
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Source: usatoday
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