{"id":7403,"date":"2026-08-21T13:08:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T13:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7403"},"modified":"2026-08-21T13:08:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T13:08:45","slug":"california-school-board-requires-national-anthem-be-performed-at-all-home-sports-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7403","title":{"rendered":"California school board requires national anthem be performed at all home sports games"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The \u201cStar-Spangled Banner\u201d is here to stay at all sporting games hosted at Temecula Valley schools.<\/p>\n

Read more Aisha Wahab wins Swalwell\u2019s seat, becomes first Afghan American elected to Congress<\/a><\/p>\n

School board members voted 5-0 Tuesday night, Aug. 18, to add language to its on ceremonies and observances to require that the U.S. national anthem be played or performed \u201cprior to the start of each home junior varsity and varsity interscholastic athletic contest\u201d at Temecula Valley Unified School District campuses, according to the policy.<\/p>\n

The rule affirms the school district\u2019s and board\u2019s \u201ccommitment to patriotism, respect for our nation\u2019s traditions, sportsmanship and school pride by establishing a consistent patriotic observance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The policy requires that the anthem be performed live, or that a \u201crespectful and appropriate\u201d recorded version is played. It also notes that participation is \u201cvoluntary,\u201d and that no one should be compelled to sing, stand, salute, place a hand over the heart or otherwise participate.<\/p>\n

No disciplinary action will be taken against someone who chooses not to participate, provided that they don\u2019t \u201cmaterially disrupt the event or interfere with the rights of others,\u201d the policy states.<\/p>\n

The CIF-Southern Section requires the anthem before every official CIF-SS playoff or championship game, but has no jurisdiction over regular season games, whose policies are determined by schools and school districts, Assistant Commissioner Thom Simmons said.<\/p>\n

California Education Code section 52720 requires \u201cdaily patriotic exercises\u201d in public schools, but does not address interscholastic athletic games. The code states that school district governing boards are responsible for interscholastic athletic policies and programs within their districts.<\/p>\n

Temecula Valley board member Melinda Anderson, who made the proposal, said a community member wanted the national anthem to be played at every home game and approached her.<\/p>\n

Read more Nonprofit buys site of school that abruptly shut down in San Jose<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cI think we play the national anthem a majority of the time,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s been missed. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s being missed on purpose or out of disrespect. So I told the community member that I support this and I would put it on the agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trustee Jen Wiersma said the district should prioritize the \u201cright thing for the collective, no matter what might go on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the anthem is going to be prioritized at TVUSD, and there\u2019s kind of a resistance, that\u2019s on them,\u201d Wiersma said. \u201cI think so many people appreciate it. We\u2019re in the 250th anniversary of the country. I think a lot of us feel the same, so I think this is a great idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

Temecula Valley parent Upneet Dhaliwal said she liked \u201cthe fanfare before sporting events,\u201d though it was a great idea the district should adopt, and that if a school band wants to play the anthem, it should.<\/p>\n

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She brought up past movements when professional athletes took a knee during the \u201cStar-Spangled Banner\u201d at games to protest racial inequality and police brutality.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2016, we did see a lot of issues (with) people taking a knee at the game, right at the beginning \u2026 because you cannot discipline the students, you cannot do anything about it, and it will lead to problems that we do not have right now,\u201d Dhaliwal added, saying\u00a0 that students possibly taking the knee \u201cactually disrespects the anthem, rather than propogate patriotism.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said she \u201cdoesn\u2019t feel too strongly\u201d about the policy either way, but encouraged board members to think about the patriotic aspect of it.<\/p>\n

Read more Norte\u00f1o gang\u2019s \u2018most violent and prolific shooter\u2019 sentenced to 30 years<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

School board OKs rule reflecting its “commitment to patriotism.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia school board requires national anthem be performed at all home sports games - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7403\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California school board requires national anthem be performed at all home sports games - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"School board OKs rule reflecting its "commitment to patriotism."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7403\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-21T13:08:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"California school board requires national anthem be performed at all home sports games\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-21T13:08:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403\"},\"wordCount\":611,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/7b5842e0026f2ce70f2830b39da509aa.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7403\",\"name\":\"California school board requires national anthem be performed at all home sports games - 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