Immigration to Tennessee and advocates outside the Senate committee room on Wednesday after the Senate Education Committee advanced a bill that would ban public schools from registering children who are not legally in the United States in violation of federal law. (Photo: John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout)

The principal of Hamilton County Public Schools announced Wednesday opposition to a bill denying Tennessee’s right to public school education to children who lack legal immigration status.

The Hamilton County Principals Association represents the principals of 79 public schools of Republican Chattanooga District Sen. Botson. Senate Bill 836.

The bill would require public charters and K-12 schools to examine the immigration status of students and allow children who cannot provide evidence of legal immigration status to be charged tuition or allowed to refuse registration entirely.

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“Our schools are not only a learning institution, but also a central focus on our neighbourhood, reflecting the common values ​​of inclusion, dignity and opportunity for all,” a news release from the Principal Association said.

“Denying this right not only contradicts our professional ethics and moral responsibility, but also violates legal precedents based on the US Constitution,” the release said, citing the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Protection Guarantee and the Supreme Court precedent.

House leader William Lambers, co-sponsor of the bill, said he hopes the bill will be challenged in court and serves as a means of overturning the 1982 Supreme Court’s Pryler vs. doe decision. The sponsors also cite the rising costs of learning English in public schools, but acknowledge that there is currently no way to check the immigration status of children under instruction.

Two versions of the bill differ in one important respect. The House bill makes it optional to check the immigration status of students. The Senate version requires this in more than 1,700 public schools and all public schools in Tennessee. Both bills allow schools to request tuition fees or bar registration.

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The bill earlier this week drew opposition from more than 20 small business owners in the Watson area, represented by the Tennessee Small Business Alliance. The Alliance called the measure “economically reckless.”

On Monday, more than 240 Tennessee Faith leaders issued an open letter to state legislators opposed the measure.

And on Tuesday, a group of Montgomery County residents filed a complaint with the Tennessee Ethics Committee against Republican Aron Mabury, claiming that he violated the Code of Ethics, which spells out his obligation to provide equal educational opportunities for all students.

The bill has attracted a majority from Tennessee Republicans, but it is not unanimously endorsed. On Monday, the bill narrowly passed House committees with Rep. Jeremy Fayson, a Republican from Cosby, pointing out that “no one in my district asked me to vote for the bill.”