Sioux Falls High Schoolers to Say “Pledge” Daily

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The Sioux Falls School Board has reversed course and will now ask high school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily.

The move comes after two weeks of backlash following the board's decision to require elementary and middle school students to say the pledge daily, but not high school students. Board members cited the daily flurry of activity at that level, but many people including some military veterans objected.

After 70 percent of parents in a survey said they favored a daily pledge in high schools, the board voted Monday night to do that — though students will be not be forced to participate.

Board member Kent Alberty compared some of the criticism to bullying — and said he better understands now what some students go through.