Click Houston reports:
A former Klein ISD student has won a $90,000 settlement years after a lawsuit was filed claiming she was subjected to harassment and discrimination for sitting out the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the civil rights group American Atheists.
“I’m glad that the defendant finally made the smart decision and settled the case before we went to trial,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, litigation counsel for American Atheists who said he was also an attorney for the plaintiff.
The Texas Association of School Boards, a risk pool funded by Texas school districts, paid $90,000 to resolve the case before trial, American Atheists said in a press release.
Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports:
The suit filed in 2017 claimed the student experienced years of criticism from teachers and administrators over her refusal to recite the Pledge because she objected to the words “under God.” Benjie Arnold, the student’s 12th-grade sociology teacher, agreed to settle the case.
In one incident, Arnold allegedly singled the student out and retaliated against her for sitting out the Pledge after the teachers had been informed of the student being exempt under state law during a staff meeting. After she refused, Arnold reportedly told the student that he had no option but to give her a zero.
The Washington Post reports:
Arnold compared people who refused to recite the pledge “to Soviet communists, members of the Islamic faith seeking to impose Sharia law, and those who condone pedophilia,” the lawsuit says.
On Sept. 20, 2017, Arnold played Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” before instructing students to write about how the song made them feel, according to Oliver’s lawsuit. Arnold said “many students feel like the song is patriotic, but when directed to pay attention to the words of the song, they feel that the song’s lyrics do not reflect a patriotic intent.”
Arnold is still working at Klein Oak High School as a social studies teacher, according to a staff directory. In 2020, the district honored him with an article about his starting a 50th year at the school.
BREAKING: we’ve won a $90,000 settlement for a nonreligious student who was harassed for sitting out the Pledge. She objected to saying “Under God” and contended the U.S. fails to guarantee “liberty and justice for all,” especially for people of color. https://t.co/fzRq5sGBdC
— American Atheists (@AmericanAtheist) March 29, 2022