Cy-Fair ISD: District dismissed from Pledge of Allegiance case

India Landry, 18, at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Houston on July 19, 2018, as her attorney Randall L. Kallinen announces her lawsuit will move forward. The Landry family sued Cypress-Fairbanks ISD after India was expelled for sitting during the pledge of allegiance. >>How Colin Kaepernick's protests set off a national debate... less India Landry, 18, at a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Houston on July 19, 2018, as her attorney Randall L. Kallinen announces her lawsuit will move forward. The Landry family sued ... more Photo: Gabrielle Banks / Houston Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Banks / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 39 Caption Close Cy-Fair ISD: District dismissed from Pledge of Allegiance case 1 / 39 Back to Gallery

Cypress-Fairbanks ISD refuted on Saturday the characterization that it had settled a lawsuit involving a student expelled after she sat during the Pledge of Allegiance.

District spokeswoman Leslie Francis said the district was dismissed from the case filed by India Landry, an African-American senior forced to leave Windfern High School last fall. Landry alleged that her expulsion was racially motivated and violated her constitutional rights.

A stipulation and joint motion for order for dismissal with prejudice was filed in Landry v. Cypress Fairbanks ISD and the State of Texas case on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The parties "agree to and jointly move for entry of an order dismissing this case with prejudice. Plaintiffs and Defendants agree that Plaintiffs' challenge to the constitutionality of Section 25.082 the Texas Education Code remains, but all other claims against all other defendants will be dismissed," according to the court document.

No other details were released.

A statement issued Friday by lawyer Randall Kallinen said: "A confidential settlement was reached, however, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton remains as counsel for defendant State of Texas in an effort to retain the statute in the face of Free Speech arguments and law."

Defendants included Cy-Fair ISD, then-Superintendent Mark Henry, campus employees Martha Strothers, Jamie Johnson, Mary James, Penny Irwin-Fitt and Karen Walters.

Cy-Fair officials said that the plaintiff may have settled with an individual defendant. The district noted that parents may submit a written request to the principal to excuse their child from reciting a pledge, a provision included in the district's student handbook.

"The District has not agreed to any additional notification of student rights in regards to this case," Francis said.

Paxton intervened as counsel for defendant State of Texas in the case, stating in a September press release that "school children cannot unilaterally refuse to participate in the pledge."

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"The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held that parents have a fundamental interest in guiding the education and upbringing of their children, which is a critical aspect of liberty guaranteed by the Constitution," his statement continued.

Kallinen told the Chronicle in September that it's rare for Paxton to weigh in on a civil rights case, and questioned Paxton's rationale since the girl's mother supports her decision to sit for the pledge.

The civil rights lawsuit is built around one of earliest civil rights rulings, the 1943 U.S. Supreme Court decision in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, which says that public school students have no obligation to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Landry told reporters in July that her opposition to the pledge was political, inspired by NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem to draw attention to a surge of police violence against African-Americans.

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The lawsuit accuses the principal, vice principal, secretary and two teachers of violating Landry's rights to free speech, equal protection and due process and of singling her out because she was black.

Teachers sent Landry to the office several times for sitting during the pledge. When Principal Martha Strother saw Landry sitting, she told her to stand. When Landry did not, Strother expelled her and ordered her to leave the premises or said she would summon police.

U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison found Landry had a legitimate claim that her equal protection rights were breached.

The decision to sit is simply her right and her choice, Landry told reporters in July.

"The flag doesn't represent what it says it does," she said.

This story has been updated with a statement from the school district.