(The Center Square) – Rep. William Lamberth told the Tennessee House of Representatives K-12 subcommittee his bill is simple.
The Portland Republican’s proposal allows Tennessee’s local school districts and charter schools to ask for proof of U.S. residency before a child can attend school. Opponents who spoke to the committee before a packed room Tuesday said they viewed the legislation as an assault on children’s rights.
“It would take away their freedom to learn simply because of who they are and where they were born,” said Jean Myers, a Tennessee teacher. “To put it in clear terms, this bill is an attack on our values as Tennesseans and upon our children.”
Lamberth said there is a legal immigration system that has been broken for a couple of decades.
“To the children that are here and the parents that are here and to those that are watching, it is false hope to give children the best education available in the world and then tell them that they can be licensed professionals, they can be doctors, they can be lawyers, they can be accountants, they can run for office, because it is not true,” Lambeth said. “If they are illegally present, their dreams at some point will have a ceiling and that is inappropriate. The federal government must fix the immigration process.”
The Plyer vs. Doe ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court said in a 5-4 1982 U.S. public schools must allow undocumented immigrants to attend unless “a substantial state interest is involved.”
William Mendoza of Knoxville said he believes lawmakers are hoping to set a national precedent.
“I think we are wasting taxpayers money,” Mendoza said. “We have seen how this bill that is trying to be passed is just a game because they just want to bring it up all the way to the Supreme Court to be able to challenge it.”
The bill’s fiscal note said it could jeopardize federal funding if passed. The Tennessee Department of Education receives $1.1 billion in federal education funding.
The number of people illegally in the country that are enrolled in Tennessee’s schools is not known. A reduction in enrollment because of the bill could be reflected in the state school funding formula, according to the bill’s fiscal note.
Lamberth said the bill just gives schools a choice to check for documentation and he does not expect all school systems to ask for proof of citizenship if it passes.
The subcommittee passed the bill 5-3, moving it to the full House Education Committee. The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, passed the chamber’s Education Committee and is assigned to Finance, Ways, and Means.
