Everyone is welcome here, whether AG Labrador is offended or not | Opinion
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- Boise School Board member criticizes ban on 'everyone is welcome' banners.
- Mental health data supports belonging as key to student success and well-being.
- Trustee urges officials to clarify how inclusive messages can remain apolitical.
School districts and communities across our state are facing an opportunity to unite as we continue building connected and welcoming environments for all students, teachers, and families.
As a member of the Boise school board, I am incredibly disheartened and even outraged at the idea of telling our teachers that they cannot send the message that all of their students are welcome. According to a recent opinion from our attorney general, the “everyone is welcome here” banners are political and cannot be posted in our schools.
Countless studies have shown significant academic and positive mental health outcomes accompany a sense of belonging. Every child needs to feel they matter, they are accepted, and that they are valued.
As a therapist and mental health professional, it is my life’s work and commitment to help teens and children be their best and build a support system that they can grow within. I dedicate and volunteer my time as a trustee in our district because I am committed to helping our students and teachers thrive.
I am invested in building a community with connections. We are preparing our students for college, careers and citizenship through their education. I am confident if they feel they belong they will have greater success through that process.
As I visit classrooms and schools, I see students that look, sound and act differently. I am so proud of the community that I find when students and teachers reach across and help to build each other up.
I am not willing to break connections down and demand that we no longer spread a message that everyone is welcome in our schools. That message is foundational in our public schools, our constitution demands that every student be provided a free and equal education, and we cannot under any circumstances dictate who is and who is not welcome to be there.
So my question to our attorney general and every legislator who put this into law is: What wording, in your opinion, is not political that still sends a message to our teachers and students that everyone belongs and everyone is welcome? In the great state of Idaho we value being welcoming and connected, and it is not political to stand up and defend that right.
It is human.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM.