Pro and con: Is we woke or is we welcome?

By Attorney General Raúl Labrador

Raul LabradorThis spring, an Idaho teacher displayed a sign in her classroom that read, “Everyone Is Welcome Here.” On its face, the message appears neutral — simple, positive words that seem apolitical. But the design reveals its true purpose: colorful letters above imagery designed to signal adherence to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The rainbow colors and progressive symbols accompanying these messages make their political purpose unmistakable.

These classroom displays reflect a broader ecosystem of political resistance groups launched in protest of the political rise of President Donald Trump. The “All Are Welcome Here” movement, founded in November 2016 by progressive activists in Minnesota, explicitly states its mission as supporting “a just, inclusive and equitable environment” while donating thousands of dollars to progressive causes, including the ACLU.

The organization openly declares: “To show our support for our transgender family, friends, and neighbors, we’re also donating 5% of our online sales will be to Transforming Families of Minnesota” — an organization dedicated to advancing transgender ideology among children and families.

Related movements like “Everyone is Welcome” similarly incorporate symbols from the “Intersex-Inclusive Pride Flag” and promote LGBTQ+ ideology through educational messaging. A simple visit to any of these organizations’ websites reveals their unmistakably political nature — complete with progressive activism, social justice messaging and ideological programming that extends far beyond genuine hospitality. When teachers display signs bearing the same name as these political organizations, what are parents supposed to think?

The situation in Idaho is not unique. What Trump’s administration recognized as dangerous enough to ban from federal agencies and K-12 schools through executive order has been quietly spreading through classrooms nationwide.

Across America, educators have transformed learning spaces into venues for DEI messaging disguised as inclusion. Idaho responded with legislation prohibiting political displays in public school classrooms — a law that passed overwhelmingly. The fundamental question is: Do parents or schools control children’s moral education? Idaho chose parents.

At its core, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion judge individuals by group identity rather than merit, divide people into oppressor and victim categories based on immutable characteristics, and prioritize equal outcomes over equal opportunity. For years, activists have systematically embedded this political messaging throughout school systems under the banner of “inclusion” and “equity.”

These seemingly neutral terms mask a comprehensive worldview that undermines parental authority over children’s moral development. As Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis accurately observed, “DEI stands for … Division, Exclusion and Indoctrination, and that has no part in our public institutions.”

Idaho’s response was precise and constitutionally grounded. The law prohibits displays representing “political, religious, or ideological views” on school property. The “Everyone Is Welcome Here” sign clearly falls within this prohibition by advancing political messaging. Parents possess the primary right to direct their children’s upbringing and education — a principle the Supreme Court established in Pierce v. Society of Sisters and has reaffirmed consistently.

Liberal activists and their media allies claim these signs have no political intent while ignoring their clear history. Individual intent cannot override the law as written. Teachers may genuinely believe their signs are simply about promoting inclusion, but an individual’s subjective motivation has no bearing on the interpretation of the statute.

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. A teacher’s claimed ignorance of political connections does not render illegal displays suddenly lawful.

Idaho schools have always welcomed every child. If teachers need political signs to make every student feel included, they’ve missed the fundamental purpose of education. Idahoans spoke through their elected representatives against DEI and expect that state law will be enforced as written without bending to activist pressure.

This debate transcends a display in a school classroom — it determines whether America preserves the principle that parents have the right to guide their children’s education. The choice is simple: Do we trust parents to raise their children, or do we surrender that sacred responsibility to government educators with political agendas? Idaho chooses parents.

AG refuses to answer questions on ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ sign, state law

By Emma Epperly
idednews.org

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.

Questions also focused on the “Everyone is Welcome Here” sign.

Here are the unanswered questions:

  1. Which should carry more weight, the content of a sign vs. its origin?
  2. 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?
  3. 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?
  4. 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?
  5. Several readers have asked if the multi-colored letters in the word “everyone” on the original sign impact its suitability. Do they?
  6. Do the multiracial hands impact the suitability of the sign?
  7. 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?