We’re one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all – a familiar phrase that some state legislators believe should be a required way for students to start each day.

The House Education Committee on Wednesday passed a bill to mandate Pledge of Allegiance ceremonies daily in public elementary and secondary schools. Students still could choose not to recite it.

A companion proposal, also sent to the full House, would require an American flag in each classroom.

"It's about the foundation of our country," Committee Chair Lisa Posthumus Lyons, a Republican, is quoted by Mlive Media Group as saying after this week’s vote. "It gets students thinking about the United States and what we stand for."

Democrats joined Republicans in voting 16-1 in favor of the Pledge bill and 15-2 to require flags.

Rep. Doug Geiss, D-Taylor, dissented on both votes. "I just don't know that it's a problem," he said, according to MLive. "Schools are reciting the pledge. And if you find one that’s not, take it up with the school board because it should be a board decision."

Michigan senators passed similar bills last November in a move to join 43 states requiring that pupils at least hear the Pledge each school day.

The issue, which has arisen around the country, was discussed this year by trustees of Saline Area Schools. David Holden, elected to the board last November, proposed a requirement that all students begin the day with the 19-word Pledge – not currently recited in the Washtenaw County district’s middle school or high school. "It works very well with some of the things we are trying to do to discourage bullying," he said Jan. 10. "It was the original diversity document before people started talking about diversity."

The well-known Pledge was written in 1892 by Frank Bellamy, a Baptist minister from New York. Congress added the words "under God" in 1954.

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