For more than two years, teachers at Detroit Lakes High School in Minnesota have put small rainbow stickers on their classroom doors. The message was simple: LGBTQ+ students, and kids with LGBTQ+ parents, are welcome here. Now the Detroit Lakes School Board wants those stickers gone.

On July 27, the board voted 4–2 to strip schools of any materials the district hasn't paid for, sponsored, or approved. The only items the policy names are rainbow stickers, posters, flags, and buttons. Board Chair John Steffl later said the rule would even cover patches on students' backpacks. When asked about Christian symbols, he told the Minnesota Star Tribune, "I'm a Christian so that doesn't bother me."

According to a lawsuit, the high school principal said no student, parent, or teacher had complained about the stickers before the vote. The policy was added to the agenda during the meeting itself, so families had no chance to speak first. Nearly 100 people later packed the August 24 meeting, and more than a dozen asked the board to change course. A vote to delay the ban failed, and it took effect when classes began September 1.

Two students and their parents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Minnesota, are now suing. One student says classmates have ripped down stickers and harassed them over rainbow clothing, pointing to the ban as the reason.

The board is now considering a revised version of the policy. The ACLU of Minnesota argues that new wording won't fix a rule aimed at the same rainbows. "A rainbow sticker on a classroom door may save a child's life who's absolutely struggling for a myriad of different reasons," speaker Lindsey Miller told the board, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.

Sign the petition to tell the Detroit Lakes School Board to repeal the rainbow ban, reject any rewritten version, and show every student they belong.