CENTENNIAL, Colo. — ACLU of Colorado attorneys sent a letter addressed to Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Todd Lambert and a district elementary school principal on Friday, December 5, 2025, urging the district to train teachers on students’ First Amendment rights. The letter comes after ACLU of Colorado received reports of an elementary school student who was compelled to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance. The student had refused to stand during the pledge to protest Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) aggressive enforcement tactics.
“Our country has long held that students do not shed their First Amendment rights once they walk on school grounds,” said Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado legal director. “Young people, like anyone else, deserve to participate in civic society and express their opinions without fear of censorship.”
After intervention from the school principal, the elementary school student is no longer being compelled to stand. However, in seeking to prevent future incidents, ACLU of Colorado attorneys urged the district to instruct teachers on how to facilitate students’ free speech rights in the classroom.
“While we’re relieved that the student was eventually permitted to engage in this peaceful and non-disruptive act of protest, the student was not allowed to sit silently during the Pledge for months,” said Scott Medlock, ACLU of Colorado senior staff attorney. “The Supreme Court decided this issue over 80 years ago. By providing First Amendment training to all teachers, the school district can contribute to a learning environment that enriches the classroom with a greater diversity of viewpoints and empowers students to be active participants in their communities.”