MERIDIAN, Idaho — A former West Ada School District teacher who resigned after being told to remove an “Everyone is Welcome Here” poster from her classroom at Lewis and Clark Elementary School filed a federal lawsuit against Idaho officials, education leaders, and the district.
Sarah Inama filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, naming the Idaho State Board of Education, Idaho State Department of Education, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, West Ada School District, Superintendent Derek Bub, and Lewis and Clark Middle School Principal Monty Hyde as defendants.
The lawsuit focuses on two classroom posters Inama displayed in her sixth grade classroom, including one that read “Everyone is Welcome Here” and showed hands in different skin tones.
The complaint says administrators ordered her to take the posters down in early 2025 after Idaho lawmakers introduced House Bill 41, which Gov. Brad Little signed into law in March 2025. The law bans Idaho public schools from displaying flags, banners or posters that express “political, religious, or ideological views,” including messages related to race, gender, sexual orientation or political ideologies.
Watch to learn why Inama believes her constitutional rights were violated —
According to court filings, Inama says school leaders told her the posters were no longer allowed because “not everyone agrees” with the message and could be seen as political.
The complaint says Inama took the posters down at first but later rehung them, after which she was told she could face discipline. Inama ultimately resigned from West Ada in May 2025.
READ MORE | West Ada teacher resigns following "Everyone is Welcome" poster controversy
Inama now works in the Boise School District, and noted in the federal complaint that Boise schools allow those same posters to be displayed in classrooms.
In the request for a jury trial, Inama is also asking the court to block enforcement of the law and is seeking financial compensation to cover legal fees.
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