Klein Oak High School student gets $90,000 settlement after being bullied for refusing to stand for pledge of allegiance

HOUSTON — A former Klein Oak Excessive Faculty pupil gained a $90,000 settlement almost 5 years after submitting a federal lawsuit claiming she’d been harassed and punished for refusing to face for the pledge of allegiance. The go well with claimed her rights to free speech had been violated. 

“She could be very relieved it is throughout and feels vindicated,” stated her lawyer Randall Kallinen. 

Her lawsuit was settled shortly earlier than it was set to go to trial.

“Pupil’s rights are important and should be protected,” stated Geoffrey Blackwell with American Atheists, a civil rights group. 

American Atheists stated the scholar, a senior at Klein Oak again in 2017 objected to the phrases “beneath God” and believed “liberty and justice for all” was not assured for folks of shade. It is why she selected to take a seat through the pledge. 

“They punished her and retaliated in opposition to her for not taking part,” stated Kallinen.

Klein ISD was a defendant within the go well with however was dismissed from the case greater than a yr in the past. Benjie Arnold, a former sociology instructor on the college, was the lone defendant left within the lawsuit. 

“He would inform the scholars in the event that they weren’t blissful in the US, he would pay them to maneuver to Europe,” stated Blackwell. 

The Texas Affiliation of Faculty Boards opted to pay $90,000 to settle Arnold’s case. 

“They spent lots of of 1000’s of {dollars} in lawyer charges combating this pupil and her rights to free speech and in the long run, we prevailed,” stated Kallinen.

The scholar’s attorneys inform us the case sends a transparent message throughout the nation. 

“You continue to retain your free speech rights once you go to high school,” stated Kallinen. “College students can’t be made to face and pledge allegiance to a rustic. This isn’t Russia.”