It’s fundamentally cruel to turn away children from public schools based on their immigration status, but the Tennessee Senate advanced a bill that would let its schools do just that. State Sen. Bo Watson has argued that his legislation is about easing financial pressure on school districts, but the bill is more about scapegoating immigrant communities and forcing needless suffering upon their kids.

“Our education system has limited resources, which should be prioritized for students who are legally present in the country,” Watson said earlier this year. Referring to local education agencies, he said, “An influx of illegal immigration can strain LEAs and put significant pressure on their budgets.” He said his bill empowers local governments to manage their resources more effectively and “builds upon the legislative action taken during the special session to address illegal immigration at the local level.”

The bill that the Tennessee Senate passed is a direct challenge to Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court ruling that stopped Texas’ plan to let local school districts either deny admission to undocumented schoolchildren or charge them tuition. In a 5-4 ruling, the court said the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause means that all children in this country have access to public education. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. noted in the majority opinion that the provisions of the equal protection clause are “universal in their application, to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction, without regard to any differences of race, color, or nationality.”

Plyler v. Doe made clear that these protections apply to all “people” within the United States, not just citizens. This principle has been central to the law for more than four decades and has prevented states from using immigration status to deprive children of their right to attend public school.

But, as you might imagine, the battle over Plyler v. Doe has never truly ended. Republican lawmakers and conservative legal groups have repeatedly pushed to overturn it and dismantle the protections it provides. For them, erasing Plyler is not just about reversing a single Supreme Court case; it’s also about stripping away a core pillar of the 14th Amendment’s promise. Similar bills have been proposed in Texas and Oklahoma.

Tennessee’s bill has now been moved to its lower chamber, and immigrant communities across the state are fighting to stop it from becoming law. Lisa Sherman Luna, the executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, told me in an email: “Even in the face of unrelenting attacks on their humanity, immigrant families have responded to this latest threat to their children’s futures with power, not panic.”  She said, “Tennesseans across race, class, and immigration status recognize the harm these policies would have not only on the children of our state but the entire nation, and have been calling their lawmakers, showing up in committees, and organizing actions in districts to make sure their voices were heard.”

Local parents and educators have also been vocal in their opposition. “I am Latino. My kids have Latino names. And while this bill is targeted directly towards immigrants, it’s primarily, in my opinion, targeted towards the Latino community.” Hamilton County teacher Kyle Carrasco said. “So I fear, just in general, that they’ll have to kind of negotiate some of these stigmas.” 

“Unchecked illegal migration over the past three years has possibly cost the public education system billions of dollars,” according to a 2024 post from the Heritage Foundation. “Large influxes of non-English-speaking children also have a negative effect on the classroom. Not only must the federal government secure the border and prevent illegal migration, but states can, and must, also take action.”

What Watson and the Heritage Foundation don’t acknowledge is the undeniable human cost of kicking children out of schools. And the cost to the United States if we normalize the idea that the circumstances of their birth define children’s worth. Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, said in an email that, “We’re seeing a groundswell of opposition to this extreme bill, and we’re going to keep fighting to make sure it doesn’t pass. But if it does, we’re ready to respond accordingly.”

A fundamental promise of the 14th Amendment is that all people will be afforded equal protection under the law. That’s what’s at stake here. It’s not the only place it’s at stake, obviously, but in this case, conservatives — and not for the first time —  are seeking to block the schoolhouse doors to children.