An appeals court ruling that it is unconstitutional to direct school children to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is “clearly way out of line,” Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said Thursday.

In a teleconference with members of the news media, Brownback called the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “very troubling,” noting that he and other senators are urging the federal court to rescind its ruling. If that effort fails, he said, the group will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the decision.

Brownback said the Senate sees nothing wrong with opening its sessions with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and “we don’t see any harm in schoolchildren doing the same.”

In its ruling, the San Francisco-based circuit court said the words “one nation under God,” amount to a government endorsement of religion in violation of the separation of church and state.