Although saying the Pledge of Allegiance is mandatory for all public schools in the state of Texas, it is not happening every day here on campus.

“We don’t usually play the announcements in my class because it takes away from the lesson, but I do realize it should be enforced more often,” an anonymous teacher said.

The Texas Education Code states that a school board must recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag and also the Texas state flag.

“It is a tradition in our country to say the pledge everyday, and it is also a state mandate to say the pledge every day, and I think its important to uphold the tradition and to uphold the law of our country throughout our school district,” principal Gavin Goodrich said.

However, a school district may exempt a student if a written note is sent by a parent or guardian. Schools are also ordered to allow a minute of silence after reciting the pledge, to allow students to engage in a silent activity of their choice, without disrupting classmates.

While reciting the pledges is required, many teachers complain that they aren’t able to get the announcements working, so they don’t participate in any of these procedures throughout the day. And despite extra class time built in for the announcements, these same teachers also claim the announcements take up class time while also distracting other students.

“When I play the announcements during class, most of my students start talking, and aren’t able to get refocused on the lesson so I’d rather not play them,” another anonymous teacher said.  “They also don’t run on my computer half the time, which is really a hassle.”