Pa. House OKs bill requiring pledge or anthem in schools

HARRISBURG (AP) -- Pennsylvania pupils in private and public schools would be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the national anthem each morning under a bill passed Tuesday night by the House of Representatives.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Allan C. Egolf, R-Perry, passed 179-16 and goes to the desk of Gov. Mark S. Schweiker for consideration.
Egolf said he introduced the measure, which also would mandate the display of an American flag in all classrooms, after talking to veterans who told him that many schools no longer routinely recite the pledge.
The measure would allow pupils to decline to recite the pledge and salute the flag on the basis of religious conviction or personal belief, but school officials would have to notify their parents if they chose to do so.
Private and religious schools can opt out because of religious reasons.
Twenty-eight states require the pledge to be recited during the school day, according to the Education Commission of the States, a nonprofit national association of state education officials. An additional seven encourage schools to conduct the pledge.
Although Egolf's bill was introduced before Sept. 11, 2001, the terrorist attack on that day accelerated interest in the bill, as was the case for similar measures around the country.