Idaho law does not prevent schools from displaying ‘In God We Trust’

After receiving a complaint, the Idaho Department of Education has clarified that a recent state law against political signage in schools does not prevent posting banners that include the national motto, “In God We Trust.”

House Bill 41, which was signed into law in March and went into effect at the beginning of July, was passed to ensure images displayed in educational contexts, as it states, “do not promote political, religious, or ideological viewpoints in order to maintain a neutral and inclusive environment for all students."

A person filed a complaint July 2 against a sign reading “In God We Trust,” according to an Aug. 6 report from Idaho Ed News.

“This sign clearly violates House Bill 41, which states that signs or banners cannot display religious ideas,” the complaint reads, according to the outlet. 

Debbie Critchfield, state superintendent of public instruction for the Idaho Department of Education, explained July 5 that these banners are legal, Idaho Ed News reported. She cited a law explicitly allowing the display of the national motto.

“It is the Department’s position that if the school display in question complies with the national motto law, then it does not violate the school displays law,” Critchfield wrote in an email, according to the article.

The clarification follows Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador's June 27 legal opinion that made clear that displaying banners reading “Everyone is welcome here” in public schools does violate the law.

In March, Sarah Inama, then a teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian, had displayed such a banner and her supervisor told her to remove it. She refused and soon began to attract national attention.

In his opinion, Labrador cited news stories showing, in his words, that the phrase is “part of an ideological/social movement which started in Twin Cities, Minnesota following the 2016 election of Donald Trump.”

“Since that time, the signs have been used by the Democratic party as a political statement,” he continued. “The Idaho Democratic Party even sells these signs as part of its fundraising efforts.”

The attorney general further said that Inama had said in interviews that she had hung the banner because of her personal political beliefs.

Inama has since left her position at Lewis and Clark Middle School for a job at a school in the Boise school district. According to a July 7 report from Idaho Ed News, the Boise school district will allow Inama to display the banner reading “Everyone is welcome here.”