FORT WORTH — Most adults can't recite the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, but state lawmakers made it mandatory in schools four years ago.

This year, they voted overwhelmingly to add the phrase "one state under God" to the pledge, which brought it under scrutiny.

Lawmakers said the Texas pledge should mirror the U.S. pledge.

At Eastern Hills Elementary School in Fort Worth, there was no discussion about it. "I think we should include God in everything," said parent Robin Spruell. "I don't think time out has stopped drive-bys. 'Under God' might."

News 8 could find no dissenting voices. "We need to keep God in everything. It helps the children understand faith; have faith in God," said another parent, Tracy Bice.

But Bice said that even if she disagreed with the reference to God, she would not sign a waiver to let her daughter opt out of reciting it. She said that could create other problems.

"They would have to say it ... to fit in," she said, because she wouldn't want her child to feel uncomfortable around classmates.

"If I were a parent I wouldn't want to put my child in that position. That's a real tough one," said State Rep. Lon Burnam, a Fort Worth Democrat who was one of only two lawmakers to vote against putting "God" in the Texas pledge.

"The point is, evangelicals should not try to impose their religion on other people," Burnam said.

State law also requires students to observe a moment of silence after the pledge. That practice—and the new pledge—are both being challenged in federal court in Dallas. An atheist couple in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD filed the case, and Rep. Burnam expects other challenges.

Meanwhile, Texas districts are also wrestling with a new law on how students can express their religion in school.

E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com