State House Advances Amended Legislation Allowing Tennessee Schools to Deny Enrollment, Charge Tuition to Illegal Immigrants

The Tennessee State House Education Committee on Wednesday voted to advance House Bill (HB) 793 by Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), which as submitted would have given school districts the option to deny enrollment to illegal immigrants.

An amendment was filed for the legislation ahead of the Wednesday vote. The legislation would now still allow school districts to deny enrollment to those in the country illegally but would also give education officials the opportunity to condition enrollment eligibility on the ability to produce specific documentation.

Should families be unable to produce required documents, the schools could then deny enrollment or charge tuition for those in the country illegally to attend school.

It would also establish an appeals process, exempt students denied enrollment due to their citizenship or refusal to pay tuition from laws mandating school attendance, and require school districts to document the number of students who enroll in schools without providing a birth certificate confirming their citizenship in a report to the State House and Senate by July 1 of each year.

Similar legislation is under consideration in the Tennessee Senate, as an amended version of Senate Bill (SB) 863 by State Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson) would similarly give school districts the option to charge tuition to enroll students who cannot produce proof of their citizenship, but stops short of allowing districts to deny enrollment altogether.

Experts have suggested the legislation is designed to produce a legal challenge that could overturn the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler vs. Doe, at which time the high court ruled it was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to deny enrollment based on citizenship or residence status.

“This bill is designed to pass the General Assembly and then be handed over to the greatest attorney general in the United States of America, Jonathan Skrmetti, to take it through the legal process, go to the U.S. Supreme Court, and get it overturned,” said Aaron Gulbransen, the leader of the Tennessee Conservatives Coalition and former reporter for The Tennessee Star, last month during an appearance on The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.

He told Leahy, the editor-in-chief of The Star, “The smartest thing the left could do on this, once it becomes law, is to leave it alone. Don’t sue on it, because it’ll be like okay, we’ll cede Tennessee. We’ll give you Tennessee, but not the other 49 states,” suggesting the legislation under consideration in the Volunteer State could have ramifications for the rest of the country.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].