Students can still say “God bless America” if they want to after the morning Pledge of Allegiance at Sabold Elementary School, but administrators will no longer recite the phrase over the public address system at the Pledge’s conclusion, writes Susan Serbin for the Daily Times.

Each morning, Principal Peter Brigg leads the children in the Pledge of Allegiance, and concludes by saying “God bless America,” a Sabold custom for several years.

At least one parent took exception to this practice and contacted the Freedom from Religion Foundation, making a case it violated a portion of the First Amendment prohibiting government sponsorship of religious messages.

Foundation legal counsel Christoper Line sent a March 25, 2019 letter to the district Superintendent stating that the school must cease proclaiming “God bless America” after the Pledge.

In response, school district Solicitor Mark Sereni concluded that Sabold was in error including the phrase. ”The difference is children repeating it said by an administrator versus a child choosing to express it,” he said.

The Foundation was satisfied with the district’s response. Since then, however, several conservative and religious websites, including Glenn Beck’s The Blaze, have weighed in against the decision.

Read more about about the school’s decision here.

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