A pair of bills introduced in Tennessee would permit school districts to deny enrollment to students who are in the United States illegally.
The Tennessee House bill, H.B. 793 was introduced on March 19. This bill simply states, “Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an LEA or public charter school may enroll, or refuse to enroll, a student who is unlawfully present in the United States.”
The legislation was sponsored by Republican state Rep. William Lamberth.
Republican state Sen. Bo Watson sponsored the same bill in the state Senate. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, this bill was amended by the Senate Education Committee. Now, a student must be enrolled upon presenting documentation that they are a citizen, in the process of obtaining citizenship, among other things (via FAIR):
The amended Senate bill also addresses situations in which a student is unable to supply such documentation. It states that an LEA or public charter school may not refuse to enroll a student without first allowing him/her to pay the tuition. Further, it says that a school is not required to charge tuition to enroll the student, however, the option to pay tuition must be offered before enrollment is denied.
Providing illegal alien children a public education in the United States is a major burden on taxpayers across the country. In many cases, schools do not have adequate resources to help these children learn.
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According to FAIR, illegal alien households in Tennessee added 49,882 students into local schools costing taxpayers $571 million annually.
"This legislation says, if you are not able to prove your lawful residence here, a local LEA may charge you tuition for attendance, which addresses the physical nature of this legislation. This is not about denying education to those students," Watson said, according to Fox News.
Both bills challenge a Supreme Court precedent instilled by Plyler v. Doe. If the Tennessee bills become law, there will likely be a lawsuit due to this.
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