West Virginia Board of Education mandates compulsory flag salute and Pledge of Allegiance, expelling students who refuse and requiring criminal prosecution of their parents

The West Virginia State Board of Education adopted a resolution on January 9, 1942, requiring all public school students and teachers to participate daily in the flag salute and recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, with expulsion for refusal. Expelled children were declared 'unlawfully absent' and their parents could be criminally prosecuted under West Virginia's compulsory education law. The resolution was explicitly prompted by the Supreme Court's 1940 decision in Minersville School District v. Gobitis, which had upheld a similar Pennsylvania requirement 8-1. Jehovah's Witness families, including the Barnettes, immediately challenged the mandate on the grounds that saluting a flag constituted worship of a graven image, violating their religious beliefs.