Texas student settles harassment lawsuit against school over refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance

A Texas student settled a lawsuit against her school and one of her former teachers for $90,000. She had originally sued in 2017, alleging she had been harassed and disciplined for not taking part in the Pledge of Allegiance. 

Key Players

Mari Oliver was a student at Klein Oak High School in Spring, Texas. After her refusal to take part in the pledge, the lawsuit alleged, bullying by teachers and students forced Oliver’s mother to temporarily home-school her.  

At the time, Benjie Arnold, Stephen Naetzker, and Jennifer Walton were all teachers at Klein Oak High School. Per the staff directory, only Arnold appears to remain. 

Brian Greeney was the principal of Klein Oak High School during the first three years Oliver was a student, from 2014 to 2017. Kimberly Walters was Oliver’s assistant principal. Thomas Hensley succeeded Greeney at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. 

Further Details

About 30 miles north of Houston, Spring is a large suburb that leans liberal. 

During her time in high school, Oliver, who is Black, chose not to stand and recite the pledge because of her objection to the words “under God” and her belief that many in the United States were not provided with “liberty and justice for all,” especially people of color, NBC News reported.  

In September 2014, Naetzker wrote Oliver up and sent her to speak with Walters as punishment for not standing for the pledge. When Oliver explained what had happened, Walters told her Naetzker had the right to punish her because he had served in the military. In November of that year, Naetzker confiscated Oliver’s phone for the day, claiming she had shown a “lack of respect” for not standing for the pledge. 

During the 2015-16 school year, Oliver took a journalism class taught by Walton. The lawsuit asserted Walton repeatedly singled out Oliver for remaining seated during the pledge. Oliver went to her guidance counselor for advice, but was told she should either stand for the pledge or transfer out of Walton’s class. Oliver opted to transfer between the fall and spring semesters.

Per the lawsuit, students bullied Oliver over the issue. On Veterans Day in 2016, after not taking part in the pledge, a student stood on a desk and called her a “bitch.” The same student posted on social media about Oliver, captioning one image, “Like if you don’t respect [our] country then get the fuck out of it.” And in early December 2016, Oliver overheard another classmate say, “There’s the bitch that sits for the pledge” while waiting for the elevator. 

After winter break in 2016, Oliver’s mother pulled her out of Klein Oak High to be home-schooled.

Oliver returned to school for the 2017-18 year. By that time, Hensley had replaced Greeney as head principal, and school officials had made it clear to teachers, including Arnold, that students were allowed to remain seated during the pledge of allegiance, The Washington Post reported. 

Nonetheless, Arnold gave Oliver’s class an assignment that required them to write down the pledge and compared those who did not partake in the pledge to “Soviet communists, members of the Islamic faith seeking to impose Sharia law, and those who condone pedophilia.” 

Refusing to engage, Oliver drew a “squiggly line” and thus received a zero.   

Outcome 

Federal judge rules Oliver has viable Free Speech claim

On May 22, 2018, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal, nominated by former President George W. Bush, ruled Oliver had a viable Free Speech claim and that her lawsuit could proceed. However, Courthouse News reported, she dismissed Oliver’s First Amendment establishment clause claim. The clause states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

Rosenthal cited Fifth Circuit precedent in Croft v. Perry, which rejected a claim that the Texas Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional because of the phrase “under God.” 

“The court held that the Texas Pledge and the statute requiring its recitation did not violate the Establishment Clause because the Pledge was a patriotic exercise, not a religious one,” Rosenthal wrote. 

Rosenthal also dismissed a claim related to Oliver’s phone being taken, since the phone was later returned to her.  

Rosenthal dismisses Oliver’s case against all school officials except Arnold 

On March 25, 2020, Rosenthal dismissed the case against all school officials except Arnold. 

Rosenthal wrote that Texas law required a letter from a parent or guardian to exempt a student from the pledge. She also noted that an explicit request to exempt Oliver did not come until an email from Oliver’s mother in November 2016, after the incidents involving all defendants other than Arnold. 

Oliver’s mother had sent an email in November 2015, but Rosenthal said this email only implied an exemption instead of one being “expressly requested or stated.” 

Arnold agrees to settle for $90,000

On March 29, 2022, Arnold agreed to settle the case for $90,000, which would be paid in full by the Texas Association of School Boards on his behalf, Newsweek reported. 

A statement released by Oliver’s lawyers, American Atheists, celebrated the settlement as a “reminder that students do not lose their First Amendment rights when they enter the classroom.”