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Southlake is in another cultural war, thanks to our state lawmakers.

As you might recall, Southlake, a community served by Carroll ISD, last year emerged at the epicenter of protracted, high-profile battles over critical race theory, district diversity policies and how to teach the Holocaust. The conflict was fierce, and healing is far from complete.

But when Patriot Mobile, which markets itself as Americas only Christian conservative wireless provider, recently donated In God We Trust posters to the Carroll ISD, the culture wars found a new battlefield.

The reason is a new state law that requires schools to hang posters with In God We Trust prominently displayed if someone donates a poster or framed copy to a campus. Authored by state Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, Senate Bill 797 was touted as an expression of patriotism and religious liberty.

Predictably, the pushback to Patriot Mobiles gift was swift. A Southlake parent, for example, attempted to donate In God We Trust signs written in Arabic and decorated with rainbow colors. However, school board president Cameron Bryan rejected that offer, saying that the schools already have enough posters displaying the national motto.

Boy, what an understatement.

All of this would be mildly amusing if it werent another disappointing example of adults pressing political agendas in public schools, this time with the express written approval of the state Legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott, who signed the measure into law.

This editorial board strongly favors teaching civics and government and supporting patriotism and civic responsibility in schools. Our nations history, warts and all, is important to teaching youngsters of their duties as citizens.

However, the poster flap doesnt represent the spirit of meaningful civics education. The posters are slogans, not learning tools, and are part of a bizarre requirement to local schools. Moreover, the posters lack context and promote political agendas while masquerading as expressions of patriotism, religion and speech.

We find it troubling that the In God We Trust law contains artfully crafted language to mandate that a specific poster with a specific inscription must be prominently displayed in schools if the gift comes from a private donor. What happened to local choice? We shudder to think what other specific mandates the next Legislature might have in mind, or that lawmakers have such an intense interest in decorating school buildings. Is this really how lawmakers should spend their time?

This editorial board had hoped for a year without the cultural, ideological and nakedly political battles that marred the past two years in school districts across the country. It is probably fair to say that most parents, regardless of their political leanings, believe that politically motivated agendas should not be fought out in their childrens schools. Yet that is precisely the conflict that the new law encourages and why it is so wrongheaded.

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Southlake rekindles culture wars with In God We Trust posters - The Dallas Morning News