West Ada wants ‘everyone is welcome’ sign removed. Does a new Idaho law ban it?
%20(1).jpg "Sarah Inama has refused to remove this sign from her classroom wall.")
Idaho schools will soon be banned from displaying flags and banners that “promote political, religious or ideological viewpoints.”
Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 41 a week after a Meridian teacher’s posters drew local and national attention, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting. West Ada School District officials told Sarah Inama, a world civilization teacher, to take down two signs, including one that said, “Everyone is welcome here,” above hands with different skin tones.
The district spokesperson previously cited the potential passage of House Bill 41 to the Statesman, as well as a district policy on displays that the school board passed in 2022, as reasons for the display’s removal.
But one of the bill’s cosponsors said she doesn’t think the signs would fall under the new law. The law prohibits flags and banners, and defines a banner as a “long, rectangular or square piece of fabric, paper or other material.” United States, Idaho, tribal and some foreign flags are exempt.
“House Bill 41 primarily focuses, and it’s very defined, on flags and banners,” Sen. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, told the Statesman. “I don’t see it touching that because that’s a poster.”
But education and civil rights advocates told the Statesman they believe the new law would have a chilling effect on free speech.
The West Ada Education Association opposed the bill. In an email, Zachary Borman, the association’s president, said the biggest issue is the “ambiguity” about what a political viewpoint is. Administrators could interpret the law broadly and remove displays such as the one in West Ada, Borman said.
The ACLU of Idaho has “concerns with the ways it will directly censor speech and the chilling effect that it will have,” according to Jenna Damron, ACLU advocacy fellow.
Mike Journee, spokesperson for the Idaho Education Association, said the new law would hurt students by creating an “unsafe and unwelcoming learning environment.” He said the law was a “top-down” approach, and that policies like these are better coming from the local level.
“Our members do everything they can to meet students where they are,” Journee told the Statesman. “Students thrive in places where they feel welcome and accepted.”
West Ada in 2022 adopted a policy requiring that displays in classrooms be “content neutral” to better align with Idaho law, the district spokesperson told the Statesman at the time. The Nampa School District also adopted a similar policy in 2023, according to meeting minutes.
A similar bill was introduced last year but failed to advance, according to previous Statesman reporting.
The new law takes effect July 1.
This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
