A bill allowing Tennessee public school districts to refuse enrollment to children without legal immigration status moved forward in the Tennessee House on Wednesday. The vote came after a heated debate, with a packed room of protesters standing and singing spiritual songs in opposition.
The committee voted 11-7 in favor of the bill, which was sponsored by Republican Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson and House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland. As the vote concluded, protesters began singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” bringing an end to the 90-minute hearing. Three Republicans joined the committee’s four Democrats in opposing the bill.
The bill (HB793/SB836) would allow public schools to verify students’ immigration status and charge tuition for students unable to prove they are legal residents. Alternatively, districts could choose to refuse enrollment to children who cannot provide proof of legal residency.
The legislation has faced significant opposition in recent weeks as it has progressed through the legislature. On Wednesday, the bill was amended, removing an earlier provision that required all public schools in Tennessee to verify the immigration status of every student. The amended version now makes verification optional for schools. It would also exempt children who are denied enrollment due to their immigration status from state truancy laws.
The sponsors of the bill hope it could become a test case for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe, which ruled that all children, regardless of immigration status, have the right to public education.
Lamberth argued that the bill would allow schools to do what Plyler prohibited. He emphasized that the increasing number of English language learners in Tennessee schools makes the bill necessary, pointing to federal inaction on immigration and the burden it places on states to educate children whose parents did not follow the proper immigration process.
“The families we’re talking about have absolutely gone around that process,” Lamberth said.
The bill received strong opposition from Democrats on the House Education Committee. Rep. Sam McKenzie, a Democrat from Knoxville, called it a “bully bill” aimed at reversing long-established law.
“We have followed this decision for over 40 years because it’s the right thing to do,” McKenzie said. “We should not put our children — the most vulnerable — in the middle of an adult dispute.”
A fiscal analysis of the bill noted it could risk over $1 billion in federal education funding for Tennessee. The bill will next be heard on April 1 in the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.
Another similar bill, which would have required children without legal immigration status to pay for public school tuition and required financial institutions to check immigration status for customers wiring funds overseas, was rejected on Wednesday in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Committee.
