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  • 2015-12-14 (xsd:date)
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  • PS 169 Pledge of Allegiance and Holiday Ban Controversy (en)
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  • On 13 December 2015 the New York Post published an article provocatively titled School principal bans Santa, Thanksgiving and Pledge of Allegiance, which held: Other outlets quickly picked up on the story. However, as the above-excerpted portion indicates, the information in the story's lead paragraphs came not from Kim herself, but an aggrieved Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) president. Whether or not that parent's descriptions of Kim's policies in any way lined up with reality was not deeply investigated by the Post. Subsequent paragraphs hint at the fact that secular-leaning guidelines are part of a wider New York City Department of Education (DoE) policy and not exclusive to Kim: For perspective, the New York City DoE has jurisdiction over 1,800 schools within the five boroughs; PS 169 is just one of those schools. The secular holiday directive was presumably issued to all schools, including PS 169. We contacted the New York City Department of Education (lines to PS 169 were busy all morning) to ask for further clarification on Kim's purported policies; a person with whom we spoke indicated that a representative would later send a statement regarding the controversy to Snopes.com. However, the department representative also confirmed that the Pledge of Allegiance was not banned at the school in any way, shape, or form. The Pledge was once read over the loudspeaker, but is now recited in individual classrooms at teacher discretion. No one is banned from saying it, nor is anyone compelled to say it; the Post's own article indicated that overtly religious celebrations were part of memoranda issued by the DoE, not Kim specifically. Additionally, the headline's assertion that the Pledge of Allegiance was banned was incorrect. On 14 December 2015 a New York City DoE representative confirmed to Snopes.com that Kim in no way disallowed celebration of Thanksgiving, and indicated that the Pledge of Allegiance would again be recited over the loudspeaker with morning announcements (versus individually in classrooms.) The DoE further confirmed that its directive allowed secular representation of the holiday season, and allows the use of Santa as a holiday symbol with secular dimensions, clarifying some confusion over whether he was considered a religious symbol. In a statement, DoE spokesperson Devora Kaye told us: In short, the Pledge of Allegiance is not now and never was banned by Principal Kim at PS 169, and the DoE confirmed the Pledge will be recited over the loudspeaker going forward. Guidelines issued by the DoE clarified that Santa Claus was permissible as a symbol with secular dimensions, and at no point was Thanksgiving (or discussion of it) banned in PS 169 or any school. Moreover, holiday-related directives encompassed all schools within the DoE's bailiwick, and were based on the widely observed policy of schools not endorsing or promoting any particular religion. [article-meta] (en)
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