COLUMBUS — School districts would be required to set aside time for children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance under a bill the House approved Wednesday without opposition.

        However, the legislation likely will not be up for a vote in the Senate until November. That chamber took the provision out of another bill in April.

        Sponsor Rep. Keith Faber, a Celina Republican, said superintendents in his district complained after the Sept. 11 attacks that principals were concerned that requiring the pledge in their schools might cause division in the classroom. The law now leaves it up to each district to decide whether to set aside time for the pledge.

        “I don't know if it was the height of political correctness or what, but the pledge to me means more than just the symbolism to a piece of cloth. It's a reaffirmation of the values we hold so dear as Americans,” Mr. Faber said.

        The bill does not require students to recite the pledge.

        Mr. Faber said leaving the students a choice honors their free-speech rights.

        The bill would pass First Amendment free-speech tests because of the option, said Raymond Vasvari, legal director for the Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

        “They can require schools to set aside the time. They cannot require the student to recite the pledge,” Mr. Vasvari said.

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