Woman holding up a sign opposing House Bill 793 (Photo by Jordan Adams)¶
A bill giving Tennessee school districts the option to charge tuition or refuse to enroll undocumented students narrowly received a positive recommendation from the House Government Operations Committee on Monday.¶
The measure from Representative William Lamberth, R-Portland, would give school districts the option to require proof of legal status for students at registration. If a student cannot provide that proof, the district would be able to charge tuition or refuse to enroll them, something currently prohibited under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1982 Plyler vs. Doe decision. Additionally, beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the bill would require districts to document the number of students who enroll without providing a true copy of the student's birth certificate and report that number to the State Department of Education. The department would then issue a report on that information annually to the speakers of the Tennessee House and Senate.¶
Representative G. A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, pointed out that many families don’t know where birth certificates are, may not have access to them, or perhaps even lost them in a natural disaster, referring to widespread damage and flooding across the state from recent storms. He wanted to know what would happen to those students.¶
“How do we ensure that those families, citizens like you and I by birth, how do we ensure that they have an appeals process if the LEA (local education agency) should rule against them?”¶
Lamberth told committee members the State Board of Education would create rules outlining an appeals process. He also said the Tennessee Department of Education, not the local district, would handle the appeals, and parents would have an opportunity to explain their situation and present any documents.
