HOUSTON - After months of litigation, the Houston-area "Pledge of Allegiance" lawsuit has apparently settled out of court.
The attorney for the Cy-Fair Independent School District student says his client was victorious and what happened was unconstitutional.
India Landry was suspended by the principal at Windfern High School in 2017 when she said she would not stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I did it quietly so it didn't bother anyone," Landry said. "I wouldn't stand because it goes against what I believe in."
The teenager said this was not something new and claimed she had been sitting during the pledge for years.
"Either way, I feel like she will get her diploma, you know," Landry's mother said. "We're going to keep fighting for her to get justice for this because this is not right."
Civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen filed a lawsuit on the girl's behalf suing the Cy-Fair Independent School District and several faculty members involved.
Kallinen said the lawsuit has been settled but would not disclose any of the terms of the settlement agreement.
Texas school districts are generally immune to lawsuits except in matters where there could be a violation of a student's constitutional rights.
Cy-Fair Independent School District released a statement Saturday saying the district was dismissed from the case and was not part of the settlement, rather the principal Martha Strother reached a settlement.
Here is that statement, in part:
"It is the District's understanding that the Plaintiff settled with one of the individual Defendants, Ms. Strother. Per the CFISD Student Handbook p. 60 (and Texas law), parents may submit a written request to the principal to excuse their child from reciting a pledge. This provision is currently included in the CFISD Student Handbook, and despite what has been reported, the District has not agreed to any additional notification of student rights in regards to this case."
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