SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The American flag is a symbol of the unity, 
liberty, and freedom of the United States of Amer-
ica. 
(2) It is important to foster national pride and 
a shared sense of civic responsibility among the 
youth of the United States. 
(3) The Pledge of Allegiance is a statement of 
national commitment and serves as a reminder of 
the values and principles upon which the nation was 
founded. 
(4) The inclusion of the American flag and the 
Pledge of Allegiance in the daily activities of elemen-
tary and secondary school students serves to pro-
mote a sense of national identity and unity. 
(5) Educating students about the history and 
significance of the American flag, as well as encour-
aging a daily expression of patriotism, plays an im-
portant role in their development as responsible and 
engaged citizens. 
SEC. 3. RECITATION OF THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND 
DISPLAY OF AMERICAN FLAG IN SCHOOLS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title VIII of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et 
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seq.) is amended by inserting after section 8524 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘SEC. 8524A. RECITATION OF PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND 
DISPLAY OF AMERICAN FLAG. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving funds 
under this Act, a local educational agency shall establish, 
maintain, and enforce a policy that requires the following: 
‘‘(1) Subject to subsection (b), all students, 
teachers, and staff in covered schools shall recite the 
Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United 
States of America at the beginning of each school 
day. The Pledge shall be recited in the exact form 
and manner set forth in section 4 of title 4, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(2) The flag of the United States of America 
shall be prominently displayed in each classroom and 
gymnasium of each covered school. Each such flag 
shall be displayed in a manner that ensures it is visi-
ble to all occupants of the classroom or gymnasium 
during the school day. 
‘‘(3) Educational materials on the history, sig-
nificance, and proper display of the flag of the 
United States of America shall be incorporated into 
the civics or history curriculum of each grade level 
taught at each covered school. The materials shall be 
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age appropriate and promote understanding of the 
values and principles represented by the flag. 
‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—Each policy required under sub-
section (a) shall include an exception pursuant to which 
an individual may refrain from reciting the Pledge of Alle-
giance for religious or personal reasons. No individual may 
be penalized, discriminated against, or subjected to retal-
iatory action for exercising the option to refrain from reci-
tation of the Pledge of Allegiance in accordance with such 
exception. 
‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—On an annual basis not later 
than October 1 of each year, each local educational agency 
subject to the requirements of this section shall certify in 
writing to the State educational agency involved that the 
local educational agency is in compliance with such re-
quirements. The State educational agency shall report to 
the Secretary by November 1 of each year a list of those 
local educational agencies that have not filed the certifi-
cation or against which complaints have been made to the 
State educational agency that the local educational agen-
cies are not in compliance with this section. 
‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary is authorized 
and directed to effectuate this section by issuing, and se-
curing compliance with, rules or orders with respect to a 
local educational agency that fails to certify, or is found 
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to have certified in bad faith, that the agency is in compli-
ance with the requirements of this section. 
‘‘(e) COVERED SCHOOL DEFINED.—In this section, 
the term ‘covered school’ means a public elementary or 
public secondary school that receives Federal funds under 
this Act (whether directly or through a subgrant from a 
State or local educational agency).’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE
AND APPLICABILITY.—The 
amendments made by subsection (a) shall take effect 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 
apply with respect to school years beginning on or after 
such effective date. 
Æ 
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