Over 44 years ago, Texas deprived undocumented immigrant children of the right to attend K-12 public schools. The Supreme Court held that this discriminatory action violated our Constitution in Plyer v. Doe (1982). The Court reasoned that education plays “a pivotal role in maintaining the fabric of our society and in sustaining our political and cultural heritage: the deprivation of education takes an inestimable toll on the social, economic, intellectual, and psychological well-being of the individual, and poses an obstacle to individual achievement.”
Tennessee is on the verge of defying this ruling and withholding or endangering education for innocent children.
A bill allowing public schools to refuse enrollment to undocumented students passed the Senate last year. It was sponsored by Senator Bo Watson. Senator Todd Gardenhire voted against the bill.
Fearing the potential loss of over $1 billion in federal education funding, the House watered down Senator Watson’s bill, but its version requires tracking and reporting of student’s immigration status which could cost schools $55 million to implement. And for what purpose? It passed a few weeks ago with the support of Reps. Ester Helton Haynes, Greg Martin, Michele Reneau and Greg Vital. Rep. Yusef Hakeem opposed the bill.
Now the bills (HB 793 and SB 836) have to be reconciled if they are to become law.
Is this what you want from your representatives? Is this how you want your state to treat children? You can contact your representative and senator through this site - https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/LegislatorInfo/. Let them know where you stand and watch where they stand.
Gregg Sullivan