Last year, the Education for All-Tennessee coalition halted the movement of HB793 (Lamberth)/SB836 (Watson), a cruel attempt to take away children’s freedom to learn based on who they are and how they came to call Tennessee home. This legislation was designed to challenge Plyler v. Doe, the landmark Supreme Court decision that has protected every child’s right to learn.  If they succeed in opening challenges to Plyler, schools nationwide could be forced to deny free public education to all children regardless of their immigration status. 

Now Tennessee legislators are working to advance HB793/SB836 again, and they’ve brought backup.   

Legislators have resumed their coordinated attack on access to public education for Tennessee’s students by pairing HB793/SB836 with a new bill, HB1711/SB2108. With a proposed amendment, HB1711/SB2108 would force schools to check the immigration status of every student, not just immigrant students.

Ensuring every child has access to quality education strengthens our communities and builds a better society for all of us. That’s why we must keep showing up. 

In this webinar, you’ll learn what these bills mean for students and families, hear from Ignacia Rodriguez Kmec, Policy Counsel at the National Immigration Law Center, on the legal implications and national context of this legislation, and find out how you can get involved with the Education for All-Tennessee coalition, including ways to take action with our fellow steering committee members the TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, SOCM, TN NAACP, and Tennessee Education Association.