A month after the Falmouth School Department was sued for allegedly not offering high school students the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, district leadership announced this week that Falmouth High School has started a daily recitation of the pledge.

The lawsuit, filed on March 3 against the Falmouth School Department and Superintendent Steve Nolan by a parent and student, alleges that the district was violating a state statute from 2011 and a district policy from 2012. Both require the schools to provide the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance during the school day, though neither specifies what “providing an opportunity” means.

The plaintiff is Christopher Hickey, on behalf of his son Clayton Hickey, a Falmouth 10th grader who has been a student in the district for 11 years. Christopher Hickey served on the Falmouth school board from 2020-23.

The lawsuit alleges that the opportunity for the pledge has not been provided to high schoolers for at least two years. The pledge has been consistently recited in Falmouth’s elementary and middle school, said both the lawsuit and Nolan.

In a message to Falmouth school families, Nolan said that upon identifying this “gap in practice,” district staff implemented an optional recitation of the pledge at the high school.

Nolan emphasized that participating in the pledge is voluntary for all students. Both state statue and district policy state that participation cannot be mandatory.

“The district remains committed to maintaining school practices that uphold the law, respect individual student rights, and foster a respectful learning environment for all students,” wrote Nolan, who started in Falmouth in September.

Christopher Hickey and his attorney Jack Baldacci said in a prepared statement that they believe the district would not have made the change without the lawsuit.

“The district had ample time to correct this longstanding omission on its own and failed to do so,” said the statement.

Following the announcement of the return of the pledge, Christopher Hickey withdrew a motion for preliminary injunction, which sought to have the court force the school to immediately change its practices, but the lawsuit remains pending.

Baldacci said continuing the lawsuit will determine how this violation of policy was allowed to persist and to ensure the opportunity to recite the pledge remains in place. Christopher Hickey is not seeking monetary damages in the case, Baldacci said.

“We are glad the district is now complying, and we hope this marks the beginning of a renewed commitment to the robust civic education every student deserves,” wrote Baldacci.