Hamilton County Senator Bo Watson faces pushback from Chattanooga educators and business leaders for bill impacting undocumented students

Senator Bo Watson (Photo by the Tennessee General Assembly)

State Senator Bo Watson, R-Hixon, is facing increasing backlash within his own district for a bill that would allow school districts to refuse to enroll undocumented children.

On Wednesday, the Hamilton County Principals Association issued a statement opposing the bill, calling it a threat and a contradiction to professional ethics and moral responsibilities. Waton’s legislation would require public school districts to collect documentation during enrollment proving students are U.S. citizens or hold legal status. If students cannot provide that documentation, districts would have the option to charge them tuition and remove any students who do not pay.

The association also called on the Hamilton County School Board to pass a resolution promising to allow school access to all children living in Hamilton County.

“As educators, our mission is clear: we are dedicated to creating safe, welcoming, and inclusive environments where all students can thrive. Efforts to exclude children from school due to their immigration status undermine this mission, threaten the well-being of vulnerable communities, and harm the future of our nation. As school principals, we do not support any legislation that would restrict any child’s access to education. We stand firm with families and communities in upholding the values that make our public schools essential to a productive and just society,” it said in a statement. 

The Hamilton County Principals Association joins dozens of business owners in Watson’s district who have also publicly opposed the bill.

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Small Business Alliance, a statewide business advocacy group, slammed the legislation, calling it economic sabotage. In a statement representing more than 50 businesses, including over two dozen from Hamilton County, the alliance disputed Watson’s assertions that the bill is aimed at saving the state money, pointing to the legislation's own fiscal note which states it may jeopardize federal funding to the state and to local governments.

"Going after children to deny them an education when he knows it is already paid for by immigrants in our state isn’t just cruel — it’s unethical, fiscally irresponsible, and politically desperate," said the alliance in a statement.

Watson and the bill’s House sponsor William Lamberth, R-Portland, have argued that undocumented students are a financial burden to local school districts, citing a rise in English language learners (ELL) in the state. However, there is no statewide data indicating how many ELL students are undocumented, and districts such as Metro Nashville Public Schools with high numbers of ELL students say most of them are citizens or documented, something Watson has acknowledged.

“Since systems don’t collect any information regarding the actual number of documented or undocumented students, the only data I do have is the amount of resources being spent on English language learners,” Watson told committee members last week. “That’s why I have to use ELL and a continuing progressive investment in ELL as at least a correlation.”

Supporters hope the legislation will be used to challenge the U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 Plyler vs. Doe decision that prohibits public schools from refusing to admit undocumented students. Representative Lamberth has additionally said it’s needed to avoid giving undocumented children “false hope.”

“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. If they are illegally present, their dreams at some point will have a ceiling,” said Lamberth in a House subcommittee meeting last month..

The legislation has steadily advanced through the committee system in the House, overcoming sometimes bi-partisan opposition, including last week’s vote in the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee where Republicans Ferrell Haile of Gallatin and Page Walley of Savannah joined Democrats in voting against the measure.

Members of the Senate voted 19 to 13 Thursday morning in favor of the bill.

Updated to include Senate vote.