Parents sue after SC student says teacher assaulted her for not saying Pledge of Allegiance

A 15-year-old student at River Bluff High School says she was physically assaulted by a teacher for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now her parents are suing Lexington School District One, Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait, River Bluff Principal Jacob Smith, River Bluff teacher Nicole Livingston and the S.C. Department of Education on her behalf.

On Nov. 29, 2022, Marissa Barnwell, a Black honor roll student, was walking in the hallway on her way to class when the Pledge of Allegiance began to play over the intercom, according a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 13. Barnwell allegedly refrained, in a “non-disruptive manner,” to acknowledge the pledge as she walked into her classroom.

Livingston began yelling and demanded that Barnwell stop to acknowledge the pledge, then physically assaulted her by pushing her on a wall, according to the lawsuit. Livingston then escorted her to the principal’s office to be punished.

“I was just in disbelief,” Barnwell said. “You can hear me say in the video, ‘Get your hands off of me.’”

When Barnwell told Smith what happened, he told her that he would review the video footage and sent her back to class. She called her mother in tears.

Barnwell was “extremely upset and emotionally disturbed,” according to the lawsuit.

“I was completely and utterly disrespected,” Barnwell said at a news conference Thursday. “No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt. ... The fact that the school is defending that kind of behavior is unimagineable.”

Barnwell said she was the only African American in the hallway that morning, and she was targeted because of that. No other student was confronted by the teacher. River Bluff is a majority-white school. Over 73% of the student body is white, according U.S. News and World Report.

The lawsuit claims the encounter violated Barnwell’s Constitutional rights and violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. It is well-established that the government cannot compel anyone to acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance, the lawsuit says.

Under South Carolina law, anyone who does not want to participate is exempt and cannot be penalized. They are allowed to express nonparticipation in any way that does not infringe on the rights of others or disrupt school activities.

“The thing that’s beautiful about America is we have freedoms,” said Tyler Bailey, the family’s lawyer. “Students in our schools should feel safe, they should not be feel threatened for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Following the incident, Barnwell’s parents said they never heard from the district. Now they are trying to seek accountability for Livingston’s actions, according to the lawsuit. But Livingston, Postlewait, Smith, the school district and the Department of Education refused to accept any responsibility.

“Nobody did anything,” Bailey said. “This is why the federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed.”

The River Bluff High School website indicates Livingston, a special education teacher, is still employed by the district.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of actual, incidental, consequential and punitive damages.

Libby Roof, the chief communications officer for Lexington School District One, said the district’s attorney is working on a response to the lawsuit, which will be filed in the coming weeks.