A classroom banner declaring that “everyone is welcome” has been declared illegal under a new Idaho statute.
On the eve of the July 1 start date of House Bill 41, Idaho’s attorney general released an opinion clarifying that the banner, the subject of controversy early this year in a suburban Boise school, would fall under the prohibited category of “representing a political, religious, or ideological expression,” Idaho Education News reported.
The storebought sign in the sixth-grade classroom of teacher Sarah Inama stated “Everyone is welcome here” over images of raised hands of different skin tones. She said it had been there since 2020 or 2021.
In January of this year, an administrator told Inama to remove the banner, saying it violated the district’s “content-neutral” policy on classroom displays. Inama refused, and she submitted her resignation at the end of the school year.
The state education department sought the attorney general’s opinion in light of the passage in March of HB 41, which restricts the type of banners or flags that can be displayed at Idaho public K-12 schools. It specifically prohibits those “that represent a political viewpoint.”
A letter Thursday, June 26, from the education department to district administrators gave guidance on the matter based on counsel from the attorney general — including that posters and children’s artwork would qualify as “banners” under the law. It added, however, that “an exception … may apply if the artwork is displayed for a ‘brief curriculum-based educational purpose.’”
In a section specifically addressing Inama’s sign, the attorney general’s office said it would be prohibited, and added: “These signs are part of an ideological/social movement which started in Twin Cities, Minnesota following the 2016 election of Donald Trump,” Idaho Education News reported.
Because the law specifies that the education department will oversee enforcement, that agency has created a complaint form with which people can report displays they believe depict “opinion, emotions, beliefs or thoughts” on politics, society, economics, religion or faith, Idaho Education News said.