A former Klein ISD student has won a $90,000 settlement years after a lawsuit was filed claiming she was subjected to harassment and discrimination for sitting out the Pledge of Allegiance, according to the civil rights group American Atheists.
“I’m glad that the defendant finally made the smart decision and settled the case before we went to trial,” said Geoffrey Blackwell, litigation counsel for American Atheists who said he was also an attorney for the plaintiff.
The years-long legal case tied to Klein Oak High School has come to an end, he said.
Blackwell said the case was about a student, identified in court records as M.O., sitting out or declining to participate in the pledge at the school.
“I also believe that we live in a country where there isn’t justice and freedom for all and so I’m not going to stand for a pledge that says there is when there really isn’t,” the student said in 2017.