No. Students have the right to refuse to salute the flag or to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and school authorities may not ask or evaluate your reason. The First Amendment protects equally the right to speak and not to speak on the orders of government; thus it protects us against coerced patriotism. [1]  There is no right to disrupt others but you may sit quietly and shouldn’t be made to stand up, leave or face any other punishment or comment. [2]  Your school shouldn’t notify your parents if you decline to say the pledge and may not require your parents’ permission. [3]

 [1] West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)(“ no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein”). Maryland law requires every board of education to require students to salute the flag and say the pledge of allegiance, but also allows any student to “be excused from the requirement.”  Md. Code, Education, § 7-105(d). Under the DC Student Bill of Rights, students have the “right to refuse to participate in school activities which are contrary to the student's moral, religious, or political beliefs,” 5 DCMR § 2401.11, but this is not sufficient because a Pledge requirement is itself unconstitutional and a student need not give any reason for not taking part.  The right to refuse is in Montgomery County Public Schools, Regulation JFA-RA, Student Rights and Responsibilities § IV(H)(2), but is not included in Prince George’s County policies.

[2] A federal court told New Jersey that a state law requiring those not saying the Pledge to remain standing was unconstitutional.  Lipp v. Morris, 579 F.2d 834 (3d Cir. 1978).

[3] Circle Schools v. Pappert, 381 F.3d 172 (3d Cir. 2004) (holding that requiring schools to notify parents when students opt out of the pledge is unconstitutional because it applies only to those with certain views and is probably designed to scare those students into conforming).