According to a school-district official, the third-grade girl at the heart of the attempt to prohibit the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools still says the pledge daily in her classroom, reports Reuters.

The 8-year-old daughter of atheist Michael Newdow, who brought the lawsuit challenging the pledge, has been sheltered from the controversy at her Elk Grove, Calif., school, says Superintendant David Gordon.

"She says the Pledge, oh yes," Gordon told Reuters. "Her mother is on record as supporting the Pledge."

As WorldNetDaily reported, mother Sandra Banning and her daughter are Christians who are not offended by the ritual. Banning, who has custody of the girl, is not living with Newdow.

"In [my daughter's] discussions with me, she expressed sadness about the decision," said Banning last summer, after the original ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. "I assured her that this was a long process and there were many steps before the Pledge would be changed and the words 'under God' removed. Hearing this, she told me that it was OK because she will still whisper 'one nation under God' and no one will hear her and know she is breaking the law."

The San Francisco-based appellate court ruled in favor of Newdow, declaring the phrase "under God" amounts to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the Constitution's "Establishment Clause" and "sends a message to unbelievers that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community."

This week, both the Bush Justice Department and the Elk Grove School District asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. If the panel decides to hear the case, arguments likely will occur next fall.

Gordon told Reuters the Pledge, with the words "under God," should stay because of its historic importance.

"There are countless references to God throughout our history in public documents and monuments and songs and so on," he said.

"The words 'under God' simply reflect that this is a country founded around worship of God. That doesn't mean that you have to believe in God or I have to believe in God. That's just a historical fact."

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