Image Credit: Tennessee General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes & Olivia Lupia] –
Out of three bills introduced this legislative session aimed at preventing Tennessee taxpayers from funding education for illegal immigrant children, only one is still standing.
HB0793, sponsored by Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland-District), passed the House Education Committee 11-7 on Wednesday, March 26 after a heated meeting.
Three Republicans – Representatives Charlie Baum (R-Murfreesboro-District 37), Tim Hicks (R-Gray-District 6), and Mark White (R-Memphis-District 83) – chose to vote against the legislation along with four Democrats.
Lamberth’s proposed legislation will give public school districts the option to charge students tuition if they cannot prove they are in the country and state legally.
Should HB0793 become law, all public schools, including public charter schools, in Tennessee would be required to verify a student’s legal status during the enrollment process.
Documentation proving that students are either citizens of the United States or in the process of obtaining citizenship or legal immigration status would have to be provided to schools. In the case that such documentation cannot be produced, LEAs and public charter schools would have the option to charge tuition for a student’s enrollment.
According to the legislation, the tuition could not be less than the TISA-based funding amount for the respective year, and would not be more than the total average per pupil funding amount for any specific LEA.
Should a school choose to charge tuition – required to be paid in full – and it is not paid, the school could deny the student enrollment.
An appeals process would be created for students who may have a lawful presence in the U.S. and would be overseen by the Tennessee Department of Education.
The intent of this legislation seems to be for it to be immediately challenged in court, ultimately targeting the overturning of Plyler V. Doe (1982), a U.S. Supreme Court decision which ruled that states cannot deny undocumented children a free public education.
Protesters against the bill comprised the majority of the audience members and Chairman Mark White warned the observers that should they act inappropriately or impede discussion the committee would “call the question, vote, and go home”.
Rep. Lamberth introduced an amendment to the bill which keeps the original intent of the legislation, allowing but not mandating LEAs to conduct a citizenry check, but also brings it to concurrence with the Senate companion, SB0836, which would give public school districts the option to charge illegal students tuition.
Testimony was heard from three speakers in opposition to the bill who in the course of their arguments called it, “discriminatory and racist,” “harmful legislation,” and “against the core values” of educators.
Rep. Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood-District 61) responded to the testimonies from his perspective as an attorney, “There are those of us on this committee who believe in the rule of law. We love children, all children, regardless of immigration status, but we also want to have our Constitution properly interpreted.” He called the Plyler V. Doe decision an “abomination” which “completely misread the Equal Protection Clause.”
Rep. Cepicky (R-Culleoka-District 64) called Plyler v Doe an “unfunded mandate from the federal government requiring us to handle the problems that they’ve created at the border for us.”
Rep. Lamberth raised a concurring point that should the legislation fail in the Assembly or in court, the illegal students would continue to be educated but would ultimately be unemployable because of their immigration status, rendering the whole process a nonsensical burden to the state.
Democrats remained hostile to the bill throughout the back and forth between members, dominating majority of the discussion time, and leading to a heated interaction between Reps. Glynn (D) and Lamberth.
After an antagonistic statement by Glynn, Lamberth in turn provoked Glynn by bringing up his “spirited campaign last year that your family was brought into,” leading Glynn to accuse Lamberth of attacking his family.
Chairman White interceded and reprimanded Glynn, Lamberth, and McKenzie, who rose to Glynn’s defense, for straying off topic.
During Rep. Lamberth’s concluding statement, the audience drowned him out by singing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and yelling at the committee, prompting Rep. Cepicky to call the question after nearly an hour and a half.
HB0793 will now go before the House Government Operations Committee while SB0836 is scheduled for the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee on 4/1.
The more conservative House Bill 0746 (HB0746), sponsored by Representative Monty Fritts and its companion bill, sponsored by Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) met its end last week in the Senate Education Committee when five Republican Senators voted it down.
On Wednesday, the TRUMP Act also failed in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee when the four members present – three Republicans, and one Democrat – split the vote down the middle.
Authors contact info:
One Response
We’re cursed with an infestation of lucifer’s RINOS. HOPE and PRAY we soon get closed primaries and they’re primaried. Pretty sure they’ll vote against that too.