Idaho Gov. Little signed HB 41, restricting public schools to an approved list of flags and banners and barring LGBTQ+ pride flags from classrooms

On March 19, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 41 (Session Law Chapter 99), a measure that restricts the flags and banners that may be displayed in Idaho public schools to an enumerated set — such as the United States and Idaho state flags, official government and military flags, and certain educational or institutional banners — and prohibits the display of any flag or banner representing a "political, religious, or ideological" viewpoint on school property. The law took effect July 1, 2025.

Although its text is framed in viewpoint-neutral terms, the Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Tracker catalogues HB 41 as a "Pride Flag Ban," and civil-rights advocates, including the ACLU of Idaho, describe its practical effect as removing LGBTQ+ pride flags from public-school classrooms. The bill advanced through the 2025 legislative session as part of a broader slate of measures affecting LGBTQ+ Idahoans.

By conditioning what may be displayed in public schools on a restriction that operates to exclude a symbol associated with support for LGBTQ+ people, the law uses state authority to disfavor one community's expression of welcome in public educational settings.

Updates

2026-02-04 — Former teacher Sarah Inama sued over forced removal of an "Everyone Is Welcome Here" poster [5, 6]

Former West Ada Middle School teacher Sarah Inama filed a federal lawsuit against the Idaho State Board of Education, Idaho Department of Education, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, West Ada School District, Superintendent Derek Bub, and Principal Monty Hyde over the district's removal of her "Everyone Is Welcome Here" classroom poster under HB 41. She alleged the law is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad and violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Idaho Constitution, seeking a declaration of unconstitutionality, an injunction, damages, and attorney fees; no ruling had been reported as of this recording.

2026-07-07 — Reporting found only three complaints filed statewide in HB 41's first year [7]

Idaho Education News and East Idaho News reported that just three complaints were lodged under HB 41 during its first year: an August 2025 complaint against "In God We Trust" and flag signage in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, which State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield ruled permissible under a separate national-motto statute; a September 2025 complaint against a Jerome Middle School teacher's "Everyone Is Welcome Here" door sign, resolved after the teacher removed it; and a February 2026 complaint against a Moscow High School teacher's Italian "PACE" (peace) rainbow flag, which the teacher voluntarily removed.