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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
Tennessee lawmakers may be bringing back legislation next year to allow school districts the option to disenroll or refuse to enroll illegal students or charge those students out-of-county tuition.
While other states like Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana and New Jersey tried to do something similar, Tennessee’s iteration reportedly got the closest to becoming law.
The intent of this year’s HB0793/SB0836 was to get a current U.S. Supreme Court precedent challenged in court.
Plyler V. Doe was a 5-4 Supreme Court decision in 1982 ruling that states cannot deny undocumented children a free public education.
HB0793/SB0836 passed the state Senate by a narrow 19-13 vote last month but was placed behind the budget in the state House of Representatives and did not come back out.
According to the fiscal note, the legislation itself could lose the state over $1 billion in federal education funding for violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
With only days remaining in Tennessee’s 2025 legislative session, lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education, asking for a guarantee from the Trump Administration that Tennessee would not risk losing federal funding by passing this immigration bill.
Absent a response, state lawmakers put the legislation on pause with plans to bring it back into consideration in 2026 depending on how the federal government reacts to it.
Legal Director of ACLU-Tennessee, Stella Yarbrough, told NPR regarding the Plyler decision that Tennessee lawmakers could be right about their ability to flip the precedent given their track record.
“I think that they are correct that they are going to get a second bite at the apple,” said Yarbrough.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
