Ashley Moody sponsors PLEDGE Act to instill more patriotism in Washington, D.C., schools

Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody is introducing a bill that would require American flags to be displayed and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in classrooms of schools in the nation’s capital.

The Promoting Loyalty, Engagement, Duty and Gratitude in Education (PLEDGE) Act would stipulate that all elementary and secondary schools in Washington, D.C., display the U.S. flag in each classroom during the hours of operation. It also would stipulate that when the national anthem is played, “each student or civilian shall stand at attention.”

The Pledge of Allegiance would also be required to be recited every day, with an exception allowing students to opt out if their parents provide consent. The measure also provides that “no student may make any display that disrupts or distracts students who are reciting the Pledge in the District of Columbia.”

Moody said in a press release that she’s trying to restore civic traditions and “a reverence” of U.S. values.

“Radicals want to teach kids to be ashamed of the United States of America and how to be activists instead. We should be teaching kids why America is worth loving, and most importantly, the principles and values that make America worth defending,” Moody said.

“My PLEDGE Act helps restore pride in our nation by reminding students every day of the freedom, responsibilities, and blessings that come with being an American, and the sacrifices made for our flag and everything it represents.”

Moody’s measure does not provide any suggested punishments or consequences for students or teachers who fail to adhere to it. She added that while Washington, D.C. schools currently have no requirement for the flag or Pledge, they do teach students lessons in special-interest causes.

She said social studies classes for first-graders identify Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco City Council member who was assassinated in 1978, as a community leader “despite the fact that Milk entered into a relationship with an underage teenage boy when he was 33 years old.”

She pointed out multiple other grievances she has with public schools in the nation’s capital, including a curriculum that teaches fifth graders the civil rights movement extends “beyond race to include gender, sexuality, class, religion and sovereignty.”

She added that younger Americans are less likely to express pride in the country, according to a recent Gallup poll, and she’s hoping to reverse that.