“In God We Trust.” These four words have appeared on all U.S. coins since 1938 and on all U.S. paper currency since 1957.[1] Additionally, as of the 2019–2020 academic year, Louisiana law mandates that these words appear in every public school in the state.[2]
I. Louisiana Revised Statutes § 17:262
In May of 2018, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards signed Senate Bill 224 into law, formalizing an amendment to Louisiana Revised Statutes § 17:262 that now requires every public school in the state to display the words “In God We Trust” anywhere within the school, in the minimum format of a paper sign.[3] Louisiana is not the only state to write such a requirement into its laws—Arkansas, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Arizona, and South Dakota have also recently approved similar legislation.[4] Some educators and legislators, however, anticipate a certain amount of backlash to these policies. In Louisiana’s Ouachita Parish, for example, the principal of West Monroe High is “aware he might have some students or parents that would disagree” with the new legislation.[5] South Dakota’s legislation addresses similar concerns directly: South Dakota Codified Laws § 13-24-24 requires the state attorney general to provide legal representation at no cost to any school district or employee sued as a result of its motto requirement and provides that the state assume any financial responsibility incurred by such a lawsuit.[6]
