‘In God We Trust’ headed to 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. 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 controversial Rapid City politician who sponsored the bill, said at a hearing on the legislation.

South Dakota joins a growing list of states that require 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, and Missouri could be next.

Opponents of these laws contend the statute is about far more than history and they have argued that its 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 copresident Annie Laurie Gaylor told The Associated Press.

Even Jensen, after being questioned about his bill’s intent, conceded it was informed by religion.

“This is our legislature, our history, a nation that trusts God,” he said. “I view this as a historical reaffirmation of the principles our country was founded on.”