A bill allowing Tennessee public schools to exclude children lacking legal immigration status cleared a house subcommittee Tuesday as protesters gathered outside the hearing room chanting “stop hurting kids” and “shame on you.”
House bill 793 by Republican House Majority Leader William Lamberth of Portland would give public K-12 and charter schools the option of enrolling or refusing to enroll a child who cannot offer proof of legal immigration status.
It differs substantially from its companion bill in the senate, carried by Sen. Bo Watson, a North Chattanooga Republican. Amended last week, the senate version would require public schools to verify student immigration status. Schools could then opt to charge tuition for children unable to prove they lawfully reside in the United States.
Both versions would fly in the face of a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that states cannot deny children access to free public education based on their immigration status, but supporters hope today’s justices will see things differently.
As chanting protesters clogged the hallway outside the house K-12 subcommittee meeting, inside Giselle Huerta pleaded with lawmakers to vote against the bill.