Equity & Diversity

Texas School District Rejects ‘In God We Trust’ Signs Featuring Rainbows, Arabic

By Talia Richman, The Dallas Morning News — August 30, 2022 2 min read
Southlake parent Sravan Krishna attempted to donate "In God We Trust" posters during an Aug. 29, 2022, school board meeting.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

When a Southlake parent attempted to donate “In God We Trust” signs written in Arabic and decorated with rainbow colors, the school board president informed him that schools already have enough posters displaying the national motto.

But under a new law, Texas public schools are required to hang posters emblazoned with “In God We Trust” if someone donates a poster or framed copy to a campus.

“We will have to look at what remedies we have so we don’t get excluded from our public schools,” said Southlake parent Sravan Krishna, who requested the trustees take those posters. “We deserve to be included in these efforts as well.”

The Carroll school district earlier this month received a shipment of such signs, with the all-capital letters displayed in white, on a blue background, above the American flag. The posters were donated by Patriot Mobile, a Christian wireless provider tied to a political action committee that spent big money to help elect conservatives to North Texas school board seats.

A student group fighting for change in the district, the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition, labeled the donations a “blatant intrusion of religion in what should be a secular public institution.”

So coalition members designed an array of alternate posters that included the motto in other languages and with rainbow lettering. Members of the LGBTQ community use the rainbow flag in pride-related events.

Krishna presented the posters — one written in Arabic, the others with rainbows — near the start of Monday night’s meeting.

However, board president Cameron Bryan responded that the district already accepted enough signs to display the national motto at each of Carroll’s campuses and in the administration building.

He said that the district doesn’t have to display more than one copy at a time, so as to not overwhelm campuses.

Krishna pushed back, displaying his posters for the rest of his three-minute allotment during the public comment section. The Texas statute does not mention a limit.

When the Patriot Mobile representatives donated their signs, the Carroll ISD trustees posed for photos with them during their board meeting.

Patriot Mobile’s donation triggered widespread attention and spurred some trolling efforts from across the country. A Florida activist quickly announced plans to raise money to send Texas schools “In God We Trust” signs — written in Arabic.

He’s raised more than $40,000 via a GoFundMe that declares the intent to donate hundreds of signs — in Arabic, Hindi and Klingon and with gay pride symbols — to schools across the state, “flooding the public school system.”

Carroll ISD — an affluent, mostly white district — has been ground zero for the ongoing political fights around how schools should discuss diversity and inclusion. The U.S. Department of Education last fallopened a handful of civil rights investigations into “allegations related to discrimination based on race, color, national origin or sex” within Southlake schools.

Copyright (c) 2022, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Mathematics Webinar
Pave the Path to Excellence in Math
Empower your students' math journey with Sue O'Connell, author of “Math in Practice” and “Navigating Numeracy.”
Content provided by hand2mind
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Recruitment & Retention Webinar
Combatting Teacher Shortages: Strategies for Classroom Balance and Learning Success
Learn from leaders in education as they share insights and strategies to support teachers and students.
Content provided by DreamBox Learning
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum Reading Instruction and AI: New Strategies for the Big Education Challenges of Our Time
Join the conversation as experts in the field explore these instructional pain points and offer game-changing guidance for K-12 leaders and educators.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Equity & Diversity Opinion American Education Hurt Black Students. We Deserve Reparations
The value of the educational harm inflicted on my generation of Black students exceeds $2 trillion, writes Bettina L. Love.
5 min read
Illustration of a young black woman with missing pieces. Some of the slices are sliding back into place, making the figure whole again.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + Madina Asileva/iStock
Equity & Diversity Schools Struggle to Properly Count Native Students. Some States Want Them to Try Harder
Michigan recently became the latest state to require the collection of data on Native K-12 students' tribal affiliations.
7 min read
Indigenous Navajo high school students in the hallway of a high school.
E+
Equity & Diversity School District's Anti-CRT Resolution Prompts Lawsuit From Teachers and Students
Teachers, parents, and students in a California district claim the resolution restricts their rights.
5 min read
Members of The Temecula Valley Educators Association, students and parents cheer in support of Temecula Valley Unified School District Superintendent Jodi McClay during a meeting at Temecula Valley High School on June 13, 2023.
Members of the Temecula Valley Educators Association, students, and parents cheer in support of Temecula Valley Unified School District Superintendent Jodi McClay during a meeting at Temecula Valley High School on June 13, 2023. The school board voted to fire McClay that day. TVEA and students are suing the district over its anti-critical race theory resolution.
Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Sun/SCNG via TNS
Equity & Diversity Opinion ‘Hate Is Taught’: The Lesson for Schools From the Racist Jacksonville Killings
A slew of anti-Black education policies have helped make Florida a sanctuary state for hate and violence, writes Tyrone C. Howard.
Tyrone C. Howard
4 min read
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a prayer vigil the day after three Black people were shot to death Aug. 26 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a prayer vigil the day after three Black people were shot to death Aug. 26 in Jacksonville, Fla.
John Raoux/AP