Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XII Chapter 71
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 69 (2026)

Display of national flags; pledge of allegiance; penalty for violation

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 69. The school committee shall provide for each schoolhouse under its control, which is not otherwise supplied, flags of the United States of silk or bunting not less than two feet long, such flags or bunting to be manufactured in the United States, and suitable apparatus for their display as hereinafter provided. A flag shall be displayed, weather permitting, on the school building or grounds on every school day and on every legal holiday or day proclaimed by the governor or the President of the United States for especial observance; provided, that on stormy school days, it shall be displayed inside the building. A flag shall be displayed in each assembly hall or other room in each such schoolhouse where the opening exercises on each school day are held. Each teacher at the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools shall lead the class in a group recitation of the ''Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag''. A flag shall be displayed in each classroom in each such schoolhouse. Failure for a period of five consecutive days by the principal or teacher in charge of a school equipped as aforesaid to display the flag as above required, or failure for a period of two consecutive weeks by a teacher to salute the flag and recite said pledge as aforesaid, or to cause the pupils under his charge so to do, shall be punished for every such period by a fine of not more than five dollars. Failure of the committee to equip a school as herein provided shall subject the members thereof to a like penalty.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1977–2024 · leading case: Opinions of the Justices to the Governor, 363 N.E.2d 251 (Mass. 1977).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Opinions of the Justices to the Governor, 363 N.E.2d 251 (Mass. 1977). · cites it 7× “The bill would amend G. L. c. 71, § 69, by striking out the fourth sentence, as appearing in St.”
Doe v. Acton-Boxborough Reg'l Sch. Dist., 468 Mass. 64 (2014). · cites it 3× “The pledge is recited in the defendants’ schools, and in schools across Massachusetts, pursuant to G. L. c. 71, § 69, which provides, in relevant part, that “[ejach teacher at the commencement of the first class of each day in all grades in all public schools shall lead the…”
LaVallee v. Town of Dedham, 736 F. Supp. 3d 26 (D. Mass. 2024). · cites it 3× “The Defendants maintain that at this meeting 9 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 69 provides, in relevant part, that classrooms must display an American flag and recite the Pledge of Allegiance once during each school day.”
Newdow v. Rio Linda Union Sch. Dist., 597 F.3d 1007 (9th Cir. 2010). “§ 7-105 (West 2002); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71, § 69 (2006); Minn.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.