The ACLU Nebraska Foundation says it has received complaints from teachers about a new rule that requires public schools to set aside time to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

The group sent a letter Monday to superintendents throughout the state, asking them to remind schools that no student or teacher should be pressured into saying the pledge.

The Nebraska State Board of Education unanimously approved the rule earlier this month. Schools must comply to keep their state accreditation and funding, but participation for students and teachers is voluntary.

ACLU Nebraska legal director Amy Miller says her group is concerned the new rule will lead some school administrators to mistakenly believe that reciting the pledge is now mandatory.

It is still illegal to force a teacher to recite the pledge.