NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A controversial Tennessee bill that would require public schools to check and report students' immigration status is set to be scheduled for a House floor vote.
House Bill 793, led by Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, would require public school districts to ask students for immigration or citizenship documents. Schools would then tally how many students are U.S. citizens, how many have legal status, and how many are undocumented. Those numbers — without names or addresses — would be sent to the State Department of Education and Tennessee's Immigration Enforcement office.
"If it is a student that is here illegally, we should know that to be able to make decisions, so that all of you and all of us can make decisions on how much is being allocated toward those students currently, right now in the state of Tennessee," Lamberth said.
Lamberth, who serves as House Majority Leader, argued that the data collection is necessary.
"You can ask anybody in this state, and right now, they cannot tell you how many illegal immigrants are enrolled in public schools. At this moment, we have over 950,000 students in our schools. It is important that we have the data," Lamberth said.
On Tuesday, the House Finance, Ways & Means Committee voted to pass the bill 15 to 9, with one Republican crossing party lines to join House Democrats. That was Rep. Charlie Baum, R-Murfreesboro, who raised concerns about whether the reporting requirements could discourage families from enrolling their children.
"Could these reporting requirements potentially discourage school attendance? And the reason why I think that's important from an economic and financial standpoint is society is better off if we have our children and our youths in schools. We want them to learn skills so that they can get a job someday, and then, on the other hand, we want them in school so that they're not out committing crimes," Baum said.
Lamberth pushed back on that concern.
"The questions that will be asked are almost identical to what's being asked right now, and there's no disincentive currently that's being created," Lamberth said.
Educators disagree, pointing out that Tennessee schools currently do not check immigration status at enrollment.
"We're making it so that families essentially are going to have to choose whether to out their status or send their kids to school," Intrepid College CEO Laurie Brown said.
A separate teacher from Lamberth's own district in Sumner County also shared her concerns.
"My heart just breaks for the kids who are sitting at home listening to adults argue about which ones are worthy of an education. That's not okay," the teacher said.
The bill currently has no official cost attached, carrying what lawmakers described as a "not significant" fiscal note. But educators who testified said the reality could be much different. According to a new analysis from the Immigration Research Initiative, verifying the status of every student in Tennessee public schools could cost about $55 million in the first year alone.
"If we're going to be doing this additional documentation that will take resources away, where do those resources come from? What are we cutting to ensure that we're meeting this documentation requirement?" Brown said.
The bill is now set to be scheduled for a House floor vote. However, the Senate passed a different version of the legislation — one that still includes tuition costs. Ultimately, both chambers will have to agree on a single version or schedule a conference committee to produce one final bill.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@NewsChannel5.com
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