Attorney General Raúl Labrador refused to answer questions Monday on Idaho’s new law regarding posters and flags in classrooms.
Idaho EdNews reached out to Labrador’s spokesman a handful of times since June 30, when the Idaho Department of Education made public his office’s opinion on House Bill 41. Labrador’s office did not acknowledge the questions.
Then, on Monday, Labrador published an op-ed defending his stance on the “Everyone is Welcome Here” signs, and a controversy that has gone viral since March. (EdNews published the op-ed on Monday; click here to read it in full.)
When EdNews indicated that it would publish the questions it sent to Labrador and his lack of response, Damon Sidur, a spokesman for the AG’s office, responded only with a link to the op-ed, posted on Fox News’ website. EdNews responded again, indicating that the op-ed did not answer our questions and asking to speak with Labrador.
Sidur responded again, with only a link to Labrador’s article.
Labrador said in the op-ed that the signs may appear neutral and apolitical, but their colorful letters and multiracial hands are signals of diversity, equity, and inclusion and are “woke.”
He repeated his claim that the signs are tied to a movement that started in November 2016 in Minnesota, when racist graffiti was discovered in a local school the day after President Donald Trump was elected. A group of mothers created signs that say “All Are Welcome Here” to combat the racism, according to a KARE article at the time.
According to Labrador, the signs were launched in protest of the political rise of Trump and the group is run by “progressive activists.”
The All Are Welcome Here group told KARE that its movement was about combating hate and was nonpartisan and secular.
Sarah Inama, the former West Ada School District teacher who displayed the signs in her classroom, said she had no idea about the movement and bought her sign at a local craft store. Her sign does not contain rainbow letters, like other versions of the sign. Instead it depicts “Everyone” in multicolored letters.
Labrador said in his op-ed that the movement promotes LGBTQ ideology.
“The Idaho Democratic Party now even sells these posters and has embraced the message as their cause — making clear that even if this message was not originally intended as political, it undeniably is now,” Labrador wrote. “A teacher’s claimed ignorance of political connections does not render illegal displays suddenly lawful.”
Guidance from the Idaho Department of Education says school employees cannot display flags or banners that show opinions, emotions, beliefs or thoughts about politics, economics, society, faith or religion. The guidance and the attorney general’s opinion did not define these terms.
Rep. Ted Hill, the Eagle Republican who sponsored HB 41, told EdNews that he thinks a sign that reads “Everyone is Welcome Here,” in school colors and without multiracial hands, would be acceptable. It’s unclear what Labrador thinks of that idea.
The Idaho Education Association, the state’s teachers’ union, called the law “ridiculously unworkable,” in part due to its broad and vague language.
Since publishing Labrador’s opinion, EdNews has received dozens of questions from teachers and patrons about what they can display in classrooms.
EdNews’ questions
As the Idaho Department of Education and schools navigate this law, EdNews submitted a series of questions to Labrador’s office. The questions centered on whether the content of a sign — or its origin — would carry more weight under the law.
- Which should carry more weight, the content of a sign vs. its origin?
- Where did the AG’s office get information that Ms. Inama hung up the sign in 2017? And that it was due to her political beliefs?
- Did the AG’s office know that the Idaho Democratic Party did not start selling the signs until March of this year, after the Inama controversy? And does that fact impact the sign’s suitability for schools?
- Ms. Inama says she did not buy the sign from the “All are Welcome Here” organization, nor know about it. How does the origin of the sign relate to its suitability under HB 41?
- Several readers have asked if the multi-colored letters in the word “everyone” on the original sign impact its suitability. Do they?
- Do the multiracial hands impact the suitability of the sign?
- How is a sign, reminding students that everyone is welcome in their schools (which AG Raúl Labrador believes, based on his social media posts) political indoctrination? Is the content of the sign itself objectionable or inappropriate? And, if so, why?
