Council member proposes that all Hilliard City Schools classrooms display U.S. flag, schedule time daily for pledge

The policy review committee of the Hilliard school board on March 11 will consider a proposal from Hilliard City Council member Omar Tarazi to start each day with an opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and require every classroom display the U.S. flag.

The proposal would not require a student to participate but rather would set aside time for a discretionary recital of the pledge instead of leaving it up to each teacher or building principal, Tarazi said.

Tarazi said he is making the proposal as a resident and as a Hilliard City Schools parent.

The school board does not require the daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance per its current policies, according to Stacie Raterman, director of communications for the district.

"However, the board encourages reciting the pledge on a regular basis as determined by the classroom teacher or building principal,” Raterman said.

The board's policy says the "board recognizes that beliefs of some persons prohibit the participation in the pledge, the salute to the United States flag or other exercises (and) such persons are excused from participation."

Tarazi said policy concerning the Pledge of Allegiance should be districtwide.

"The board policy should be changed to reflect the American flag and Pledge of Allegiance are central and the unifying symbols of our diversity and inclusion as a nation,” he said.

His proposal also changes the phrase, “The board prohibits the intimidation of any student by other students or staff aimed at coercing participation in reciting the pledge” to, “The joining in the Pledge of Allegiance by students shall be encouraged but without penalty for not participating."

Tarazi said he brought the proposal to the policy review committee late last year and agreed to wait until after new board members were seated in January to ask for it to be considered.

“Mr. Tarazi did bring a request to the policy review committee in late 2021, but at the time it was tabled," board member Brian Perry said. "With newly elected board members beginning in January, we felt it was something the new board should consider."

More than half the members of the school board were new when 2022 began.

Kara Crowley, Beth Murdoch and Zach Vorst were elected Nov. 2. Incumbent Mark Abate was not reelected, and Paul Lambert and Lisa Whiting did not seek another term.

Related story: Hilliard school board will have different look in January with three new members

Perry, who was elected in 2019, is one of the board members on the policy review committee.

He said the U.S. Supreme Court case West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, decided in 1943, determined that the free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits public schools from forcing students to salute the U.S. flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

“In addition to remaining complaint with the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution, the district’s current policy directly mirrors Ohio Revised Code,” Perry said.

When asked about his view on time being set aside each day for a voluntary recital of the pledge, Perry said, “I defer to our classroom teachers to use their instructional time in the way they feel is most beneficial, in accordance with current board policy.”

Murdoch is the other member of the policy review committee.

“My view on policy changes brought to the board of education’s policy committee by concerned citizens and parents is that the board should be completely transparent," she said. "As such, I believe proposals like these should be moved forward for discussion and a vote by the entire board of education."

In addition to policy change concerning the flag and pledge, Tarazi is asking for the policy review committee to amend the board’s “Public’s Right to Know Policy” to add a section titled “Transparency.”

The language Tarazi proposed includes: “In the interest of transparency and collaboration with the community, parents and teachers, the district superintendent or their designee are directed to maintain a page on the Hilliard school district webpage making public the following information.”

That information includes result totals for any survey administered to students at the building or district level, with the results for each question summarized by district level, grade level and school building; result totals for any survey administered to teachers, with the results for each question summarized by district level and school building; and audio or video recordings and all handouts and materials for any professional-development program provided to the teachers in the district.

“If the school district is going to take taxpayer funds and time to do professional education training for teachers and staff, I see no reason why the district should prefer to hide the training material from the public. ... The district has (also) been (administering) health and well-being surveys of both students and staff with panorama surveys, and I see no reason why survey results should not be published,” Tarazi said.

Raterman said the student surveys are “one measure to help monitor the district’s goal of creating safe, inclusive environments where all kids can succeed." She also refuted Tarazi’s claim that the survey results are not shared.

“In the coming weeks, parents will receive a notification from their schools with a link to the questions in the survey," she said Feb. 18. "When asked for results, we allow parents to come into the school to access students’ scores and give context to the information."

kcorvo@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekCorvo

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Council member and parent Omar Tarazi proposes all Hilliard City Schools classrooms display U.S. flag, schedule time daily for pledge