The Pledge Statute states that “The pledge ... shall be rendered by students.... The pledge of allegiance to the flag shall be recited at the beginning of the day in each public elementary, middle, and high school in the state.”
Fla. Stat. § 1003.44(1). The statute permits students an exception to this requirement, however. The exception is triggered when a student has presented a signed, written statement from his parent excusing him (the student) from participating: “Upon written request by his or her parent, the student must be excused from reciting the pledge.”
Id. Plaintiff challenges the statute, alleging that the statute's parental-permission requirement too broadly deters free speech and is facially unconstitutional: an overbreadth challenge.