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A controversial proposed law that would require public schools to track and report the immigration status of their students advanced in the Tennessee House on Tuesday despite pushback from educators and immigrant advocates.
House Bill 1711 is the second piece of legislation currently in the Tennessee General Assembly that could require educators to report the legal status of public school students in the state.
It is not yet clear how the bills could be implemented without running afoul of federal education policy and endangering the more than $1 billion in federal education funding Tennessee currently relies on to help fund its public schools.
A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, established a longstanding legal precedent that it is unconstitutional to deny children access to a public education based on their immigration status.
Last year, Tennessee Senate Republicans passed Senate Bill 836, which was aimed at overturning the Plyler precedent, despite objections from Democrats and some Republicans who criticized the effort to draw children into a political debate over immigration issues.
The House companion bill stalled in committee over concerns it would jeopardize Tennessee’s federal education funding. The House sponsor, Majority Leader William Lamberth, requested further guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.
That guidance is forthcoming, Lamberth said earlier this year, and Republican leaders want to push forward with the bill this year.
The U.S. Department of Education has not returned a Chalkbeat Tennessee request for comment, though, nor has it taken a public position on the legislation over the past year as lawmakers have discussed the issue.
House Bill 1711 is written as a trigger law, which means Tennessee public schools would not be required to track and report the immigration status of students until the Plyler precedent has been overturned. Tennessee Republicans have passed similar trigger laws on other issues in the past, such as the state’s abortion ban that was inactive until the fall of Roe v. Wade.
Rep. Elaine Davis, a Republican from Knoxville, is sponsoring the legislation. Davis on Tuesday argued that local officials need to know the immigration status of people accessing public benefits, such as public education, social services, and public medical benefits for financial accountability.
“We are a nation of laws,” Davis said. “We have a social contract with each other. Part of that duty and responsibility is to make sure we’re not ripping each other off. If people are here taking advantage of services and dollars we have specifically set aside for our citizens and our communities, that to me is a violation of our laws.”
Tennessee public schools are largely funded through sales taxes, which are paid by all consumers in a community regardless of immigration status.
A Tennessee teacher testified against the bill on Tuesday, arguing the bill would “introduce fear and distrust in our schools.”
“Do you want schools to focus on positive student academic outcomes, or do you want schools to be an instrument of immigration enforcement?” said Betsy Hobkirk, who has been an elementary school teacher in Knox County for 15 years. “How would immigrant status data be collected in an educational system that is already overtaxed? It would divert resources away from our mission of educating children.”
Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
