If any teacher did that (“violently” OR NOT) or otherwise punished a student for not standing for the "Pledge of Allegiance", the teacher was WRONG based on a decision by the US Supreme Court decided June 14, 1943 (more than 74 years ago) - and if the district lets the teacher get away with it, the DISTRICT DESERVES TO BE SUED. 

From the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette

West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943), is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the American flag and say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. The Court's 6–3 decision, delivered by Justice Robert H. Jackson, is remembered for its forceful defense of free speech and constitutional rights generally as being placed "beyond the reach of majorities and officials."

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