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Tennessee lawmakers on Wednesday voted to advance a bill that would require public K-12 and charter schools to verify student immigration status and allow them to bar children who cannot prove they lawfully reside in the United States unless they pay tuition.

The 5-4 vote by the Senate Education Committee came despite the Legislature鈥檚 own fiscal analysis, which said the proposed legislation 鈥渕ay jeopardize federal funding to the state and to local governments鈥� and violate the federal Civil Rights Act, which specifically prohibits discrimination based on national origin in programs receiving federal dollars. Three Republicans joined the committee鈥檚 sole Democrat in voting 鈥渘o.鈥�

Immediately after the vote was cast, shouts of 鈥渟o shameful鈥� and 鈥渢hat鈥檚 trash鈥� erupted inside the hearing room. Others, including school-age children in attendance, streamed out of the room in tears.

The bill () by Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican, and House Majority Leader William Lamberth, a Portland Republican, says that local school districts and public charter schools 鈥渟hall require鈥� students to provide one of three forms of documentation: proof of U.S. citizenship, proof the student is in the process of obtaining citizenship or proof they have legal immigration status or a visa.

Students who lack one of the three forms of documentation could then be barred by their local school district from enrolling unless their parents paid tuition.

Watson,  the bill鈥檚 sponsor, said he brought the measure in response to the increasing cost to the state of providing English-as-a-second-language instruction.

鈥淩emember, we are not talking about people who are here lawfully,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to discuss here is the financial burden that exists with what appears to be an increasing number of people who are not lawfully here.鈥�

In response to a question from Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, the sole Democrat on the panel, Watson said he had received no formal request from any school official to introduce the measure.

鈥淚n an official capacity, this is one of those issues people do not talk about,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淭his is a very difficult bill to present. It is very difficult to have all these eyes on you.鈥�

鈥淚n an unofficial capacity at numerous events, have people mentioned this problem to me? Absolutely,鈥� Watson said.

Akbari responded: 鈥淚鈥檓 from the largest school district in the state. I have not had those conversations.鈥�

鈥淚 am offended by this legislation,鈥� Akbari said. 鈥淚 find that it is so antithetical to the very foundation of this country鈥�.This is saying that babies 鈥� you start school at five years old 鈥� that you do not deserve to be educated.鈥�

The bill鈥檚 sponsors have acknowledged the measure is likely to face a legal challenge if enacted. The proposed legislation, they have said, is intended to serve as a vehicle to potentially overturn the Supreme Court鈥檚 Plyler v. Doe decision, which established a constitutional right to a public school education for all children. The 1982 decision was decided by a 5-4 vote, Watson noted.

鈥淢any 5-4 decisions taken to the court today might have a different outcome,鈥� Watson said.

The proposed legislation is part of an unprecedented slate of immigration-related bills introduced in the Tennessee legislature this year as Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly鈥檚 GOP supermajority seek to align with the Trump Administration鈥檚 immigration policies.

Lee last month signed into law legislation to create a state immigration enforcement office to liaise with the Trump administration, create distinct driver鈥檚 licenses for noncitizens and levy felony charges at local elected officials who vote in favor of sanctuary policies.

Among nearly three dozen other immigration-related bills still being considered is one to require hospitals that accept Medicaid payments to report on the immigration status of their patients. would open up charitable organizations, including churches, to lawsuits if they have provided housing services to an individual without permanent legal immigration status and that individual goes on to commit a crime.

Following Wednesday鈥檚 hearing in the Senate Education Committee, hundreds congregated in a hallway of the Legislature, chanting 鈥渆ducation for all鈥� and pledged to return as the bill winds through the committee process.

The bill 鈥渋nstills fear and hopelessness in these students,鈥� said Ruby Aguilar, a Nashville teacher who testified against the bill during the hearing.  鈥淓ducation is not merely a privilege, it is a shared human right every child should have access to.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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