Idaho’s new law bans public school displays promoting political, ideological, or religious views, stirring debate over “Everyone is Welcome Here” signs.
BOISE, Idaho — July 1st, also known as Canada Day, or it’s the Battle of Gettysburg, began on this day in 1863. But in Idaho, July 1st means the effective date of new laws. Many of the 341 bills passed during this past legislative session will take effect on July 1. One of them involves classroom displays in public schools.
The purpose of House Bill 41 is to make sure there are no flags or banners put up in schools that promote political, ideological, or religious viewpoints in order to maintain a neutral and inclusive environment. A neutral and inclusive environment it says it right there in the law. It’s got it right in front of me. Nothing that represents political parties, gender, sexual orientation, or race will be allowed, it says.
If this sounds familiar to, I don’t know, the other flag law that limits what flags can be flown to government on what government properties. Well, you’re, you’re right, it does sound very similar, including the fact this flags in schools law carries no penalties.
Like the other flag law, this one has no teeth in it. It was only later, when the bill was amended, that enforcement was laid at the feet of the Idaho Department of Education. Did they ask for that responsibility?
However, last week, the state Department of Education released guidance on how local school districts should approach this new law. In that guidance, they laid out definitions of what would violate this law, what can be displayed, how it will be enforced, which isn’t much, by the way.
That guidance was based on the opinion of Idaho’s attorney general’s office, which the Department of Ed asks for before the end of the session but didn’t receive it until May 29th, nearly two months later, and I know what some of you might be thinking. OK, the AG is opining on what can be displayed in classrooms. How does this new law apply to, I don’t know, say a teacher putting up an everyone is welcome here poster like the one Sarah Inama had in her classroom and was told to take down by the West Ada School District, which she refused?
Well, you weren’t the only ones who wanted to know that answer. It was a question. It was question number 5, in fact, from the Department of Ed to the AG’s office. And they said using West Ada as an example, would the two displays in Miss Inama’s classroom be prohibited by this law?
The AG’s answer? Yes, but the reasoning seems a bit off. You see, Labrador’s office says these signs are part of an ideological social movement that started in the Twin Cities of Minnesota following the 2016 election of Donald Trump and they included a link in their opinion to a story from our sister station KARE in Minneapolis focusing on four women who started making ‘All Are Welcome’ signs in response to what happened at a local high school and in a year’s time they ended up sending out more than 11,000 of them across 40 states.
In a video from KARE, we hear from one of the designers of the sign, who said she designed it in response to racist graffiti in the local high school’s bathrooms. One of the things written said, “go back to Africa.”
It seems the signs weren’t a reaction to someone getting elected, but more of a response to some vile racist comments being written in a public school bathroom, according to the story. I wonder if an attorney would believe that to be solid evidence of causation in a courtroom, but I digress. But the Attorney General went on. Since that time, the signs have been used by the Democratic Party as a political statement. The Idaho Democratic Party even sells these signs as part of its fundraising efforts.
That first sentence we can’t really verify, but the second one we can. And yes, the Idaho Democratic Party does offer a lawn sign and some stickers for sale on their website. So we reached out to the Idaho Democrats and asked them how long they’ve been selling ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ stuff, and they told us that they began offering the signs on March 25th of this year after hearing from Idahoans who wanted a way to support Mrs. Inama as well as support teachers across the state, as well as parents and teachers, regardless of their political affiliations, who want children to have a fair shot, they said.
Taking a stand against discrimination shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and we hope leaders in every party see it that way. So they only began selling them after we brought the story of Sarah Inama to the public and so for them it isn’t political and they were only responding to public demand. The final part of the AG’s reasoning though, that the ‘Everyone’s Welcome Here’ sign violates the new law.
Inama first displayed her sign in 2017 during the height of the above referenced social movement. In media interviews, she explained that she hung the sign to share her personal ideological beliefs. Well, we know what she told us that she had to sign up for about 4 years until her principal told her to take it down in February of 2025, so the math doesn’t quite add up there. But what does Sarah Inama, the former West Ada, now Boise School District middle school teacher, think about this interpretation of her poster?
“I mean, I think it’s strange,” she said. “I had to go and read the article.” She is referring back to the aforementioned article from KARE that was used in the AG’s point.
“It happened to occur the day after the presidential election, but I mean, the things that were written and the signs that were made to combat it aren’t political. So it’s a strange article to cite as the beginning of this, the ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ movement.”
Inama continues to say she had no idea what was happening in Minnesota when she purchased her poster.
Inama further elaborates that her date of hiring was incorrect in the AG’s write up.
“I got hired full time halfway through the school year, second semester in 2020, but yeah, it wasn’t until 2020 or 2021, maybe, that I had that sign,” she said.
When asked, does the sign stating ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ represent her political ideology, she had a lot to say.
“It’s pretty obvious that I do personally believe that all the students in my classroom are welcome, and no matter what, and they should know that. And So, yes, it is, it is also personal, but whether they want to admit it or not, that is the view of the school districts in the state. That is the view of the Department of Education in the state. That is the law, according to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. So, inclusion and equality of the students in public education is not an opinion, and it’s very clearly defined in laws in the federal government and in our state government,” Inama tells us.
She has since left the West Ada School District, feeling like she was not supported. This new law will impact other teachers who want to place posters such as her ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ sign, to which she had this to say.
“I will never be convinced that the message ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’, or everyone is welcome or all are welcome, whatever it may be, a message of inclusivity to the students in our classrooms is political at all in any sense. You can find a million things about that idea of inclusivity for everybody that lives in your community. All over the place and in different parts of the world,” Inama said.
“I mean, it has nothing to do with our political parties here in the United States,” she added.
We reached out to the AG’s office for comment, but they have not reached out as of Tuesday, July 1.
Inama is waiting to hear back from the Boise School District, her new employer, to find out what this new law means for her poster.