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Legislation requiring Tennessee public schools to check students’ immigration status will continue to draw Republican opposition when it heads back to the Senate for consideration.

Even though the measure is watered down considerably from 2025’s bill, which would have allowed schools to deny education to children without full legal documentation, GOP Sen. Page Walley of Savannah told the Lookout this week he will not support SB836/HB73 in part because of the extra work it would put on school personnel. 

The measure, which is part of a White House-backed “Immigration 2026” package, must return to the Senate for another vote because it was amended in the House.

“I maintain a position that I am very dubious of anything that puts additional immigration burden on our K-12 schools when they are marginally funded in many cases to do the work they are doing now,” Walley said.

The Senate passed the bill in 2025 on a 19-13 vote, with seven Republicans, including Walley, voting against it. At that point, the legislation sponsored by Sen. Bo Watson of Hixson could have made it more difficult for children without permanent legal documentation to enroll in public schools. It was designed to challenge a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plyler v. Doe, which required schools to enroll students regardless of immigration status.

More than 100 Hamilton County educators and school board members are calling for Watson to drop the measure, no matter what form it takes, signing a letter in opposition to the bill.

“Children should not carry the weight of adult policy decisions when they walk through our doors,” said Jill Levine, principal at Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts and vice president of the Hamilton County Principals Association. “Our job is to protect them, teach them and support them, without conditions that could create fear or uncertainty in their daily school experience.”

Chattanooga Preparatory School teacher John Lennon said in a statement it is “immoral” to deny a child the right to a “proper and dignified education.”

The House version failed to pass last year because of concerns that Tennessee could lose $1.1 billion in federal funding. The bill rolled through the House this week on a 70-25 vote with an amendment requiring schools to check students’ citizenship.

Bill requiring immigration status checks in Tennessee public schools advances in legislature

Three Republicans, Reps. Jody Barrett of Dickson, Charlie Baum of Murfreesboro and Michael Hale of Smithville, voted against the bill. Republican senators voting against the measure in 2025 were Richard Briggs of Knoxville, Todd Gardenhire of Chattanooga, Ferrell Haile of Gallatin, Becky Massey of Knoxville, Mark Pody of Lebanon, Shane Reeves of Murfreesboro and Walley.

Another piece of Republicans’ “Immigration 2026” slate that could meet opposition is SB2108/HB1711, a measure requiring local governments to send a list of names for every person who isn’t a citizen and could receive benefits to Tennessee’s centralized immigration enforcement division. The bill also would force K-12 schools to track and report the names of undocumented students if SB836/HB793 passes and the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Plyler v. Doe.

The measure also could require immigration checks by hospitals and prisons, forcing staff in schools and hospitals to become immigration experts while putting a barrier between patients and healthcare providers.

Republican Sen. Dawn White of Murfreesboro, who is sponsoring the bill, said she will present it in the Senate State and Local Government Committee next week.

“We need to know what this is costing the state of Tennessee. This is a report, plain and simple,” White said.

The bill isn’t expected to require data on the amount of sales taxes undocumented people pay in Tennessee.

House Majority Leader William Lamberth urged passage of his tracking bill Monday, saying lawmakers need to know how many students without legal documentation are enrolled in schools so the state can make policy decisions. He didn’t specify the types of policies that would be considered.

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