Hundreds of “In God We Trust” signs are going up in some Arkansas public schools thanks to a new state law.
The legislation — Act 911 — requires schools to display the U.S. motto alongside both the American and Arkansas flags, the Associated Press reported. But there’s one condition: The posters must be donated.
“Every sign that we have has to be put up,” Mark Laster, communications director for Pea Ridge Schools, said, according to KNWA-TV. “No public funds are used, and they have to be donated.”
Many of the posters came from the American History and Heritage Foundation. State Rep. Jim Dotson (R) sponsored the bill and attended the Bentonville School Board’s Feb. 19 meeting, when he presented the district with 891 framed “In God We Trust” posters, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Bentonville Schools were the first to implement the new policy.
A local American Legion chapter even raised about $1,500 for the frames, which were sold at a discount by the Christian-owned Hobby Lobby craft store, according to the Democrat-Gazette.
But not everyone is happy about the new requirement.
Casey Goodman, whose wife works for Bentonville Schools, described the new bill as a nationalist effort.
“We are now sliding down a hill,” Goodman said. “There are other religions inside schools besides Christianity. Have these outside people looked at a classroom nowadays? It is not just a bunch of white kids.”
Read the full story at Independent Journal Review
