Anti-Hate Poster Has No Home in Ohio Classroom, Says School District |
LGBT
Anti-Hate Poster Has No Home in Ohio Classroom, Says School District
The poster, which included a rainbow flag, counts as "instruction that includes sexuality content" and triggers an Ohio parents' rights law, the board said.
Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 4.15.2026 11:46 AM
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(Illustration: Rosemarie Mosteller/Pix569/Karenr/Dreamstime)
"Hate Has No Home Here," read the classroom poster. The school board said it had to go. Now, the teacher who put up the poster is suing, saying his First Amendment rights were violated.
How could such an anodyne message spark a constitutional controversy? The drama stems from the images under the words: five hands—of varying skin colors—holding five hearts, each decorated differently. The largest heart features an American flag pattern. One heart has a peace sign on it. The controversial hearts feature stripes, one in a rainbow of colors and one in pink, blue, and white.
The Little Miami school board says these images violate the district's policy regarding instructional materials "relating to sexual orientation or gender identity."
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The striped hearts are, of course, done up in the colors of LGBTQ and transgender pride symbols—though that's something one would only know if they're already aware of these symbols. The images themselves are simply striped hearts, and the poster makes no mention of anything related to sexual orientation or gender identity.
What's more, the teacher in this case—going in court documents by John Doe—said he never offered classroom instruction based on the poster. So, the idea that it represented classroom instruction related to sexual orientation or gender identity seems somewhat lacking.
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Taken at face value, this poster does not say anything about the morality of same-sex attraction. It does not encourage gender nonconformity or weigh in on what really makes someone a girl or a boy. It simply suggests that we should not hate people based on sexual orientation, gender identity, skin color, or other characteristics.
The purpose of the poster was to suggest that "bullying and/or targeting will not be tolerated," Doe told school board members in an email obtained by The Cincinnati Enquirer. "I have never incorporated the flag into the curriculum itself or used it as an instructional item when covering any sensitive topics in class."
The "Hate Has No Home Here" poster is one of many posters and flags hung in Doe's classroom, per his suit. There's also an American flag, a Cincinnati Bengals flag, a "COEXIST" poster featuring different religious symbols, photographs of presidents and civil rights leaders, a Rosie the Riveter poster, vintage Uncle Sam "I Want You"........