S. Dakota mandating ‘In God We Trust’ appear in schools

South Dakota’s Republican lawmakers said it was about history — the motto appears on money, on license plates and in the fourth stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It’s also likely discussed in the classroom, where historical inquiry is a key part of the state’s social studies curriculum.

But legislators said they wanted to make it more clear; they wanted to “reaffirm” it. So this fall, when students return to school, a new and compulsory message will greet them: “In God We Trust.” It’ll be the first new academic year since South Dakota’s GOP leadership passed a law requiring every public school to display the American maxim “in a prominent location” and in font no smaller than 12 by 12 inches.

“Our national motto and founding documents are the cornerstone of freedom and we should teach our children about these things,” Sen. Phil Jensen, the Rapid City politician who sponsored the bill, said at a hearing on the legislation.

South Dakota joins a growing list of states that force their schools to display the motto. At least half a dozen states passed “In God We Trust” bills last year, and another 10 have introduced or passed the legislation so far in 2019. Similar signage is going up in Kentucky schools this summer.

Opponents contend that the statute’s invocation of “God” is an endorsement of religion and a violation of the First Amendment. “Our position is that it’s a terrible violation of freedom of conscience to inflict a godly message on a captive audience of schoolchildren,” Freedom From Religion Foundation Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said.