Bill Allowing Tennessee Schools to Charge Tuition, Deny Education to Some Immigrants Passes Senate
The 19-13 vote featured a number of Republicans joining Democrats to oppose legislation
by Sarah Grace TaylorApril 11, 2025
A bill allowing school districts to charge tuition or ban students based on immigration status squeaked through the Tennessee State Senate on Thursday, leaving the House to determine its fate.
In the closest Senate floor vote of the session — closer even than the contentious school voucher vote in the special session earlier this year — the votes were 19-13 to approve the bill, despite a month of protests and opposition from community members, business owners and clergy from across the state.
Some efforts to whip votes appeared to take place right up until the floor session, with most Republicans not arriving until 20 minutes after the meeting was to begin. Each lawmaker entered through a tunnel of opponents chanting “follow Jesus, not Bo Watson.”
Watson (R-Hixson) is the senate sponsor of the bill, which he has repeatedly said was introduced to help save public schools money on the cost of educating children who are not lawfully present in the U.S.
“This debate is part of the fabric of a larger debate that this country is engaged in when it comes to immigration, and particularly illegal immigration, which is the result of decades of unenforcement and purposeful under-enforcement,” Watson said before the vote. “The vitriol and the passion around this bill should demonstrate to all why the immigration issue is so difficult to address.”
The amended version of the bill says Tennessee schools must verify the immigration status of children enrolled in their schools, and each district can determine whether they want to charge tuition to the children who are not citizens or cannot prove they are in the process of obtaining citizenship.
As written, the bill does not make any exceptions to truancy laws for students who disenroll because of this policy. While the bill does not spell out a specific amount for tuition, it ties the range to state and total per-pupil funding received by the school.
If signed into law, the new policy would directly challenge the 1982 Plyler v. Doe Supreme Court decision, which says students are entitled to public education, regardless of their immigration status.
Watson believes that the current, more conservative Supreme Court would overturn that precedent if the Tennessee bill made it to that point, because the original decision was “the voice of the court being imposed on the people.”
“This, my friends, this is the voice of the people being exercised through their elected representatives, us,” Watson said.
Watson’s argument is based on the idea that keeping undocumented students out of schools would reduce the cost of education and ease an undue burden on public schools. Throughout the committee process, Watson and other proponents pointed to the cost of English as a Second Language learning as an indicator of this cost. However, there are an unknown number of undocumented students in Tennessee schools, and data suggests immigrants actually contribute more than they benefit from public budgets.
[US]House passes bill to require proof of citizenship to register to vote, drawing ire of voting rights groups
It now heads to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
In a vote on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a bill Republicans have celebrated but that has drawn the ire of voting rights groups and most congressional Democrats.
The bill passed with 220 votes in favor and 208 opposed. Four Democrats joined the Republican majority in the House to advance the bill.
It now heads to the Senate, which did not act after the House passed the bill last July -- allowing it to expire at the end of the 118th Congress. Republicans will need Democratic support to overcome a 60-vote threshold to be able to pass the bill in the Senate.
The measure would require states to obtain in-person "documentary" proof of citizenship before registering a person to vote for a federal election. The measure also would require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls.
Noncitizens are already prohibited from voting in federal and state elections, though some cities and localities allow noncitizens to vote in some local elections, and voter roll audits leading up to the 2024 elections found rare instances of noncitizen voting.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., posted Thursday that the bill is "dead on arrival" in the Senate/
"The Republicans' SAVE Act reads more like a how-to guide for voter suppression. It goes against the very foundations of our democracy," he added. "Mark my words: This will not pass the Senate."
Supporters of the bill have argued it will strengthen voting laws and confidence in elections and that it gives states flexibility to figure out how to allow people to register to vote if they have an issue or discrepancy with the documents.
"Despite the ridiculous attacks and purposeful misinformation spread about the bill, I am pleased to see that the House of Representatives once again passed the SAVE Act on a bipartisan basis to ensure only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the author of the legislation, said in a statement on Thursday. "In order to preserve this republic, we must uphold what it means to be able to vote in a U.S. election."
"You have to prove your identity because only U.S. citizens should vote and decide U.S. elections. It's already in federal law, but there's no mechanism currently to ensure that that law is always followed, and this measure, the SAVE act, will help make sure that it's true," House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters after the bill passed.
Democrats launching ‘war room’ to push back against Trump
by Sarah Fortinsky - 04/07/25 9:18 AM ET
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced Monday it’s launching a “war room” in an effort to streamline party messaging and expand its rapid response operation, as Democrats search for new ways to counter President Trump.
The war room operation will take a “walls down” approach between DNC departments focused on messaging, research and mobilization operations, so the party can “take a more aggressive posture with rapid response,” according to the DNC.
Party officials outlined four primary goals of the new operation: to expand Democratic reach into “new information spaces”; to engage in “aggressive daily messaging to counter the Trump administration”; to use “creative opposition tactics” to counter GOP efforts; and to “combat the lies from the right” from a new vertical.
DNC Chair Ken Martin said the war room will “be updating people in real time and around the clock” to counter the Trump administration’s “reckless agenda.”
“While Donald Trump continues to push an agenda that raises costs, destroys jobs, and ruins lives, he also continues to lie, spin, and cheat his way out of accountability,” Martin said in a statement. “And the DNC is doubling down on its efforts to provide the American people with real facts and accurate information about the impact of his policies.”
McMahon Says Schools With ‘Gender Plans’ Could Be Violating Federal Privacy Law
Policies that don’t require parents to be notified of students’ gender transitions could violate FERPA, the education secretary says
By Brooke Schultz — March 28, 2025
The U.S. Department of Education is using the primary federal law governing student privacy to investigate two state education departments over policies concerning how schools disclose changes to students’ gender identities to their parents.
It’s a fresh attempt by the Trump administration to threaten federal school funding for states and school districts that flout the president’s agenda concerning transgender students.
And those two state agency investigations—of the California and Maine education departments—could just be the start, according to a letter Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent to district leaders on Friday.
McMahon warned educators in the letter that the Trump administration would make a “revitalized effort” to enforce the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, in a way that guarantees parents’ access to information on whether their kids request to use names or pronouns at school that don’t match their sex assigned at birth. Schools that create “gender plans” to support students’ gender transitions, but don’t make them accessible to parents, could be violating FERPA, the department said in the Dear Colleague letter.
FERPA protects the privacy of student records and grants parents access to those records.
California passed a law last year saying that educators don’t have to notify parents if a student changes their name or pronouns in school, calling policies that require notification—which school boards in several states have passed—“forced outings.” Meanwhile in Maine, which has drawn outsize federal attention for its transgender athlete policies, the federal Education Department alleges that school districts develop plans to support students’ gender transitions without making the plans available to parents.
It’s another show of force from the department, which has been aggressively pursuing Trump’s social policy agenda through its office for civil rights, which investigates cases of discrimination. It also marks a push from the department to make good on its vow to doggedly pursue parental rights—an effort that has gained steam in the past five years, borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic, through which parents have argued for a greater say over what their children are being taught, particularly about race and gender.
These two investigations come from the Education Department’s student privacy office, which enforces FERPA.
The California and Maine investigations are rare, experts say
It’s unusual for the federal agency to investigate state departments of education like this, said LeRoy Rooker, who served in the Education Department’s family policy compliance office for more than two decades and is well-versed in FERPA
IN CASE YOU HAVE WONDERED WHERE THIS WAS NOW:
Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Program
During the Tennessee General Assembly's extraordinary legislative session in January 2025, the Tennessee General Assembly passed the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Act, Chapter 7 of the Public Acts of 2025, 1st Extraordinary Session, and Governor Bill Lee signed the landmark legislation on February 12, 2025 to establish Tennessee’s universal school choice program into law.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2025, the State Board of Education held a special called meeting to hear the Education Freedom Scholarship Act emergency rules, which received a unanimous positive recommendation, marking another pivotal step in the implementation process. On March 20, 2025, the State Board of Education accepted permanent EFS rules on first reading, which is the beginning of the permanent rulemaking process laid out in state law and by the Secretary of State’s office. To learn more about this process and what is included, please refer to the State Board of Education's website.
The Tennessee Department of Education is working diligently to launch this program and provide access to Tennessee families. As implementation of the program is underway, the department is partnering with the State Board of Education as they promulgate rules ahead of a projected May launch. More information will be forthcoming.
With questions, please email EFS.Questions@tn.gov.
What are Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarships?
Education Freedom Scholarships will allow residents of Tennessee who have a child entitled to attend a public school in grades K-12 to use state funds toward education expenses, including tuition and/or fees at registered Category I, II, or III private schools located in Tennessee.
LET'S BE PRAYING FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE LOVELY FAMILY:
Agustin Escobar, Siemens executive of Siemens in Spain, along with his wife and three children, have been identified as the victims of today’s tragic helicopter crash in the Hudson River.
The family had just arrived in New York City from Barcelona for a visit. What was meant to be a joyful trip turned into an unimaginable tragedy.
My heart goes out to their loved ones and everyone affected by this devastating loss.
