Students in Cullman County schools will soon be greeted with a 200-year-old American motto — In God We Trust — when they arrive for classes.

The Alabama Legislature passed a bill earlier this year, sponsored by Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, that allows public institutions to post the motto for display, if they choose to do so.

The Cullman County School Board unanimously approved a resolution to display the motto at all county school on Thursday evening.

“Some people may disagree with it, but the Legislature voted to allow it,” Superintendent Shane Barnette said. “I think it’s important for students to know the history and how this came about in our nation’s early years.”

A similar phrase, “In God is our Trust,” appears in “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was adopted as the national anthem of the United States in 1931. Written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, the fourth stanza includes the phrase, “And this be our motto: ‘In God is our Trust,’” which was adapted as the national motto.

The motto has also appeared on U.S.-minted coins since 1864.

Barnette provided hand-outs that detail some of the history of “In God We Trust” at Thursday’s meeting.

The handout also notes that “In God We Trust” is engraved on the wall above the Speaker’s dais in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and over the entrance to the chamber of U.S. Senate.