by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Legislation moving through the committee process in the Tennessee General Assembly (HB 1711/SB 2108) proposes “law enforcement agencies and local governmental entities” report “persons not lawfully present in the United States,” as well as “the annual cost incurred by this state for public schools … to provide benefits and services to persons not lawfully present in the United States.” Companion bills (HB 793/SB 836) propose public schools “refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States.” In a March 2 virtual press conference, the Immigration Research Institute (IRI) drove home what these bills would mean translated into action: public schools would be required to verify students’ status by asking students to provide birth certificates or other documentation to prove their citizenship and/or immigration status. Said David Dyssegaard Kallick, Director of the IRI, “I don’t want to make this seem like its mostly a cost question, but for anyone who thinks that [these bills] would be without significant expense to the [public school] districts, that’s just not the case.”

To evaluate the citizenship or immigration status of all 963,000 students in the Tennessee school system would entail hiring, training and equipping 934 school personnel, estimated cost $55 million. Verifying only 5-year-olds coming to school for the first time or new enrollees would cost roughly $4 million, and this would not be a one-time expense. The implementation costs would recur every school year.

Franklin County School Board representative Sarah Marhevsky mined the depth of the consequences at the base level: the impact on children. “Presenting a birth certificate might not be a big deal for most people,” Marhevsky said, “but for students who are homeless or students in foster care or students adopted from international locations that might be an impossible task.”

“We don’t choose our parents,” Marhevsky observed. “Children are not responsible for the choices of their parents. How could any educator look at a child and say, ‘No, you can’t go to school.’ I’ve taught children of all different backgrounds at three different schools. Those are things I would never say. I don’t know any teacher who would.”

Commenting on the current climate of fear in the public schools, Jack Masterson, a freshman in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, said, “All of my friends belong at school. Not some of them, all of them, no matter their immigration status. I’ve seen teammates miss games, practices, and even tournaments. My friends are living in fear.”

Footnoting the financial factor in the birth certificate equation, Marhevsky stressed, “In Tennessee we have no state income tax. We do, however, have a high sales tax rate. The families of every school age child in Tennessee pay taxes that support our schools.” Decrying the proposed legislation as contrary to state policy and creed, she cited the Tennessee Department of Education website, “‘We are committed to the belief children from all backgrounds can succeed when given the opportunity they deserve. Tennessee K through 12 education operates with a common goal: to provide the best for all students.’” Marhevsky insisted, “When we say all, we must mean all.”

For more information go to <https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=HB1711>. For more information go to <https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=HB0793>.