In order to assist advocates in fighting against these divisive bills, we have assembled a number of tools and resources, including talking points, suggested social media posts, and an action alert template.

General Talking Points

1. Teachers can already display the national motto; this is about forcing every teacher to do so, and every child to observe it, whether they want to or not.

2. Schools should be free of political mandates imposed by special interest groups. [Bill #] undermines local control of our schools by allowing the state to intrude into local classrooms and mandate what materials must be on the walls.

3. Mandating “In God We Trust” posters in every classroom is exclusionary and unfair. Students and teachers have a variety of beliefs—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, to name just a few. Public schools must be free from religious coercion based upon a particular set of beliefs.

4. This bill will set the stage for bullying and harassment against students with differing beliefs. Public schools are not allowed to impose a particular religious viewpoint on students because the U.S. Constitution gives the freedom of religion to everyone.

5. Ultimately, this bill will cost taxpayers and schools millions of dollars to defend a law that is unnecessary and unconstitutional. Our education dollars should go to our children, not to support political messages by special interests.

6. Why are lawmakers wasting time and resources trying to impose a political agenda on schools? We should be focusing on real reforms to education and to keep our children safe.

7. Freedom of religion means the government cannot impose a religious viewpoint on anyone. Our students and teachers deserve schools free from religious coercion. This bill is an obvious effort by special interests to impose their religion on everyone else.

8. This bill forces “In God We Trust” into every classroom without providing any education about the history of the national motto. We cannot allow special interests to use schools to promote their political agenda at the expense of our students.

9. This bill may seem like a minor issue, but the truth is that this undermines our freedom of religion. The special interests advocating for this measure have already laid out their plan—this is only the first step to insert fake history into our schools.

Situational Talking Points

1. Bills like this are being proposed by special interests as part of Project Blitz, an effort by Christian nationalists to rewrite American history. They do not care about our children or education—only about imposing their agenda upon our schools at any cost.

2. Displaying the word “God” spelled out violates the beliefs of some religious groups, including many Jewish people. Others hold the separation of religion and government as an essential component of their faith. Mandating display of these posters in schools is disrespectful to such beliefs.

3. Project Blitz is a campaign by Christian nationalists to shape state law and paint a false narrative of American history. We cannot allow them to use our schools—and harm our children—to achieve their political goals.

.@ELECTED-OFFICIAL, mandating “In God We Trust” posters in every classroom is exclusionary and unfair. Our schools should be free from religious coercion and political agendas. Oppose #BILL-Number! #BlitzWatch

.@ELECTED-OFFICIAL, #Bill-Number will result in bullying and harassment against students with differing beliefs. Freedom of religion is important to all of us—schools should not be imposing a particular religious viewpoint upon students! #BlitzWatch

Email to Lawmakers

Subject: Oppose Religious Coercion in Public Schools (Bill #)

I write to ask you to oppose [Bill #], a controversial bill currently before the [Legislative Body] that would require every public school classroom to display “In God We Trust” posters.

Bills like this are being proposed by special interests groups across the country to undermine our freedom of religion. We cannot allow them to use our schools -- and harm our children -- to achieve their political agenda.

First, this bill is unnecessary. Teachers can already display the national motto; this is about forcing every teacher to do so, and every child to observe it, whether they want to or not.

Second, mandating “In God We Trust” posters in every classroom is exclusionary and unfair. Students and teachers have a variety of beliefs—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and atheist, to name just a few. Our schools should be free from religious coercion based upon a particular set of beliefs. Sadly, in other states, these displays have resulted in increased bullying and harassment against youth with different religious beliefs.

Finally, this bill undermines local control of our schools, as it requires the state to intrude into local classrooms and mandate what materials must be on the walls. As your constituent, I urge you to oppose this harmful and controversial bill.

Email to Constituents

Subject: Oppose Religious Coercion in Public Schools!

The [State] [Legislative Body] is considering a controversial bill which would require every public school classroom to display “In God We Trust” posters. Mandating these posters in schools is exclusionary and unfair. Students and teachers have a variety of beliefs—Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, just to name a few. Our schools should be free from religious coercion based upon a particular set of beliefs.

Please ask [lawmaker] to oppose this bill!

[Bill #] will result in bullying and harassment against students with differing beliefs. Freedom of religion is important to all of us—schools should not be imposing a particular religious viewpoint upon students.

Bills like [Bill #] are being proposed by special interests as part of Project Blitz, an effort by Christian nationalists to rewrite American history so that it favors their agenda. This may seem like a minor issue, but the truth is that this undermines our freedom of religion. The special interests advocating for this measure have already laid out their plan—this is only the first step to insert fake history into our schools.

We cannot allow special interests to use our schools—and harm our children—to achieve their political goals. Please take a moment and ask [Lawmaker] to oppose this bill.