Sarah Inama, a former sixth-grade teacher from West Ada School District in Meridian, Idaho, who resigned from her position in early 2025 over controversy regarding an “Everyone is Welcome Here” sign hung in her classroom, has moved her case to up to the federal government.
Inama was a social studies teacher at Lewis Clark Middle School prior to her resignation and is currently working for the Boise School District. She was told by West Ada school administrators to remove two posters in her classroom, one of which read, “Everyone is Welcome Here,” pushing the story into the national spotlight.
According to the lawsuit, West Ada administrators said the sign, which includes hands of all races, was “crossing the political boundary” and that “political environments change.”
Following the incident, the Idaho legislature drafted and voted into law House Bill 41, which prohibits flags and banners that may express ideological views about race or politics in public schools and went into effect July 2025.
The new lawsuit, filed Wednesday, Feb. 4, with the federal court, aims to declare Idaho Code 33-143 unconstitutional and is seeking monetary damages against the State Board of Education for violating Inama’s First Amendment rights. The suit directly states the West Ada School District, Superintendent Derek Bub and Attorney General Raul Labrador as defendants and claims that the law violates the U.S. and Idaho constitutions.
According to the Idaho Statesman, the West Ada School District said it does not comment on pending litigation. The Idaho state department made a similar comment. It has not been decided whether the case will be heard or not.
Josie Adjanohoun can be reached at [email protected].