AG’s office and West Ada ask judge to dismiss ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ lawsuit

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 2, 2026

By Emma Epperly, IdahoEdNews

BOISE, Idaho — The West Ada School District, along with Superintendent Derek Bub and principal Monty Hyde, asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by a former West Ada teacher who clashed with the district over signs, including one that read “Everyone is Welcome Here,” in her classroom.

The ask follows a similar request from the Idaho Office of the Attorney General on Thursday.

The attorney general’s office argues that the issue of teachers having free speech in classroom displays was already settled by an appellate court. The request also argues federal court isn’t the proper venue for the lawsuit, in part because most of these claims deal with state issues.

Former West Ada teacher Sara Inama filed the lawsuit earlier this month, asking the U.S. District Court of Idaho to declare that a state law passed last year prohibiting display of certain flags and banners violates the U.S. and Idaho constitutions.

Click here for a timeline and stories related to the controversy surrounding Inama's poster.

The lawsuit names multiple defendants:

• The Idaho State Board of Education
• The Idaho Department of Education
• Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador
• The West Ada School District
• West Ada Superintendent Derek Bub
• Monty Hyde, principal of West Ada’s Lewis and Clark Middle School

The attorney general’s office is representing Labrador, the Department of Education and State Board. Attorneys for West Ada argued in their own filing late Friday that Bub and Hyde are named only in their official capacity and therefore should be considered a part of the West Ada district and removed from the suit individually. The attorneys also asked the court to dismiss the suit as a whole.

The attorney general and West Ada asked that the lawsuit against the government agencies be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be filed again.

Read the attorney general’s filing here. Read West Ada’s filing here. a asked that the lawsuit against the government agencies be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it could not be filed again. Read the attorney general's filing here. Read West Ada's filing here.