Danielle Khalaf, a Palestinian teenager who challenged a Plymouth-Canton school district’s handling of her refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, reached a settlement with the district that includes First Amendment training for staff and payment tied to the dispute, according to a court filing described by the Associated Press.
In a statement reported as coming from Danielle Khalaf and her father, the agreement resolves the lawsuit over an incident in which the teenager said she was humiliated after she did not recite the pledge in protest of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. The report said the Plymouth-Canton district did not admit liability as part of the settlement.
The agreement also calls for the district to provide First Amendment training to staff, a step the school described as part of its effort to maintain a school environment that is “safe, respectful and welcoming for all,” according to Superintendent Monica Merritt. Merritt said the district’s “mission” is to foster that environment, as reported by AP.
The settlement further includes financial terms tied to the teacher implicated in the lawsuit. According to the court filing cited in the report, an insurance company would pay $10,000 on behalf of the teacher involved in the incident, even though the district did not accept liability.
Danielle Khalaf’s lawsuit said she declined to recite the pledge over three days in January 2025, and that a teacher admonished her and told her she was being disrespectful. The report said the lawsuit included the teacher’s statement, “Since you live in this country and enjoy its freedom, if you don’t like it, you should go back to your country.”
The teenager and her legal representatives also said the incident caused emotional harm. The lawsuit, as described in the report, said Danielle Khalaf suffered emotional injuries, including nightmares and strained friendships, and she said the experience was “terrifying at times” and “scary to face a teacher,” while also describing the publicity as overwhelming.
Danielle Khalaf said in a statement released by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Arab American Civil Rights League that it taught her “the importance of speaking up for what I believe is right,” according to the report. Under the settlement, the district agreed to remove anything from Danielle Khalaf’s file that suggested her actions violated school policy, the report said.
The dispute unfolded against a backdrop of heightened attention to civic rituals and expression in schools amid the Israel-Hamas war, and it drew national attention after Danielle Khalaf’s refusal became public, AP reported. The settlement does not resolve the underlying lawsuit through an admission of wrongdoing, but it includes training and other terms intended to address how staff respond to students who refuse the pledge.