Poster: Courtesy Sarah Inama; Raul Labrador – Photo: Gage Skidmore
Idaho Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador has directed schools not to allow teachers to post signs or banners that say “Everyone is Welcome Here,” claiming the message is partisan and violates a new state law banning political displays in classrooms.
“These signs are part of an ideological/social movement which started in Twin Cities, Minnesota, following the 2016 election,” Labrador wrote in an opinion issued in response to a request from the Idaho Department of Education seeking clarity on how the law would be interpreted and enforced.
“Since that time, the signs have been used by the Democratic Party as a political statement,” Labrador continued. “The Idaho Democratic Party even sells these signs as part of its fundraising efforts.”
In his guidance to the state education department, Labrador linked to a 2017 news story from Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE, which reported on a group of women who came together after racist graffiti appeared at a local high school the day after Trump’s 2016 victory. Their signs read: “All are welcome here.”
The women told KARE their movement was nonpartisan and focused on combating hate and discrimination. The signs soon were used in other Minnesota schools.
The Idaho Democratic Party told Idaho Education News it didn’t begin selling “Everyone is Welcome” signs until March 25, after a news story went viral about Sarah Inama, a 35-year-old world civilization teacher at Lewis and Clark Middle School in Meridian. Inama had been ordered to remove two signs that school officials claimed were “political” because they were seen as supportive of the LGBTQ community.
The signs in question were one that read “Everyone is Welcome Here,” featuring multicolored letters and images of hands of different skin tones holding hearts, and another reading, “Everyone in this room is welcome, important, accepted, respected, encouraged, valued, and equal.”
The school district claimed the signs violated its policy prohibiting political messages in classrooms.
Around the same time, Idaho lawmakers passed HB 41, a law prohibiting certain flags or banners in public schools, including those that “represent political, religious, or ideological views, including but not limited to political parties, race, gender, sexual orientation, or political ideologies.” The law was signed earlier this year and took effect on July 1.
In guidance to schools based on his legal opinion, Labrador claimed that Inama “began displaying the signs in 2017, shortly after Trump’s first election,” and alleged she was motivated by personal political beliefs.
Inama told Idaho Education News she wasn’t even a teacher in 2017 and didn’t put the signs up in her classroom until 2020 or 2021. She said she bought the sign at a craft store in the Boise area and hadn’t heard of the Minnesota story until the outlet sent her Labrador’s guidance last week.
“The [KARE] article is pretty good evidence for why this message is not political,” Inama said, noting that similar signs had been displayed in public schools since her own school days. “These moms, who aren’t a part of a political organization, made these signs to combat racism. It’s not good evidence to connect the message ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ to a political organization at all.”
She added that saying “Everyone is Welcome” in public schools aligns with state and federal laws prohibiting discrimination in student admissions.
Idaho Democratic Party Communications Director Avery Roberts said the “Everyone is Welcome Here” signs and stickers sold by the party were intended to show support for Inama and promote inclusivity in the classroom.
“Taking a stand against discrimination shouldn’t be a partisan issue, and we hope leaders in every party see it that way,” he told Idaho Education News.
But according to Labrador’s opinion, HB 41 prohibits school employees from displaying flags or banners “that show opinions, emotions, beliefs or thoughts about politics, economics, society, faith or religion.” Neither his opinion nor the education department’s guidance explicitly defines those terms.
Labrador claims the sign’s colorful letters and imagery “signal adherence” to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices, which some conservatives view as discriminatory toward non-minority groups. He also noted that some versions include symbols from the “Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag,” sending a pro-LGBTQ message that may conflict with parents’ religious beliefs or the values they want to teach their children.
Labrador also objected to the fact that the original “Everyone is Welcome Here” banners in Minnesota directed some proceeds to “progressive causes,” including the American Civil Liberties Union and Transforming Families of Minnesota, a pro-transgender organization.
Inama resigned from the West Ada School District and will begin teaching in the Boise School District in the 2025–26 school year. Labrador’s office has declined to clarify what types of signs are allowed under the law, instead pointing reporters to a Fox News op-ed defending his legal opinion.
Former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones called Labrador’s guidance “a political statement masquerading as a legal opinion,” arguing it misrepresented the timeline and intent behind Inama’s signs. “What could possibly be more neutral and inclusive than a sign saying that everyone in the classroom is welcome to be there?” he wrote.
He accused state lawmakers of pushing vague, culture-war legislation without proper legal review, concluding: “The people deserve better from their elected officials.”
The ruling in Tennessee’s gender-affirming care case could unravel key legal wins for transgender Americans as lower courts are told to take another look.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered lower federal courts to revisit pro-transgender rulings after siding with Tennessee in a 6-3 decision upholding the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
In its June 30 ruling, the Court found the law did not discriminate based on sex or transgender status -- and while it did not address other laws affecting transgender Americans, it opened the door for states to impose even broader restrictions on transgender rights and legal protections.
As reported by CNN, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Amy Coney Barrett wrote in concurring opinions that courts should not be required to closely scrutinize laws alleged to discriminate against transgender people.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing provisions in a pair of anti-LGBTQ executive orders issued earlier this year that threatened to strip congressionally approved funding from LGBTQ service providers and health centers.
The provisions specifically target LGBTQ and HIV prevention organizations that engage in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or that promote so-called "gender ideology" by recognizing transgender identity as valid.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases challenging state laws that bar transgender student-athletes from competing on female-designated sports teams at public schools and universities. One of those cases, Little v. Hecox, involves Boise State student Lindsay Hecox, who sued after being denied a spot on the school’s women’s track and cross-country teams under Idaho’s transgender sports ban.
A federal judge blocked Idaho’s law in 2020, finding that it likely violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and discriminated against Hecox and other transgender athletes based on sex and transgender status. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling in 2023 and again in an amended opinion last year. The state then appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to decide whether the ban is constitutional.
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