The Pledge of Allegiance was effectively removed from public schools in 1962 when the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Engel v. Vitale. This landmark decision deemed that government-directed recitation of the Pledge in schools violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from establishing an official religion or unduly favoring one religion over another.
The case arose when a group of parents challenged the New York State Board of Regents’ practice of having students recite a voluntary school prayer that included the phrase ‘under God.’ Although the Pledge of Allegiance itself was not explicitly mentioned in this case, the ruling set a precedent that affected how the Pledge was recited in schools across the country.
While the ruling did not ban the Pledge of Allegiance entirely, it led to a decline in its recitation in many public schools due to concerns about legal repercussions and the separation of church and state. Today, the Pledge can still be recited in schools, but participation must be voluntary.