Students at one New Jersey elementary school will no longer be saying “God bless America” as part of their daily routine after the American Civil Liberties Union wrote the school’s attorneys and claimed the practice violated the Constitution, The Courier-Post newspaper reported.

The principal of Glenview Elementary School in Haddon Heights told the newspaper a pair of teachers started the tradition shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks as a way of honoring victims and emergency personnel, but students were never formally required to do it. The kids had said the phrase after they concluded the Pledge of Allegiance, The Courier-Post reported.

But the ACLU wrote the tradition was unconstitutional because of its religious connotations, according to The Courier-Post, and while the school argued that the phrase was patriotic and not religious, it chose to abandon the practice altogether rather than potentially wage a legal battle.

One Christian parent told The Courier-Post her children would likely still say the phrase, and the principal added the school wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted to say it on their own.

Haddon Heights is located about 12 miles southeast of Philadelphia.