Tennessee Republicans have a unique opportunity to spearhead a nationwide challenge to longstanding Supreme Court precedent allowing illegal aliens to overrun American schools. The question is: Will they take it?
There is currently a pair of companion bills making their way through the GOP-controlled Tennessee Legislature (SB 836 and HB 793) that would authorize Local Education Agencies (aka “public school systems”) “and public charter schools to refuse to enroll students who are unlawfully present in the United States.” While SB 836 passed the Senate during last year’s session and is currently awaiting consideration in the House, HB 793 is tied up in the lower chamber’s committees.
The primary reason this legislation is so significant is because it tees up a direct challenge to decades-long Supreme Court precedent that has granted illegal aliens access to America’s public education system. Known as Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 (5-4) ruling by Associate Justice William Brennan declared that a revised Texas law permitting school districts to “deny enrollment” to illegal alien children violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. The decision effectively opened up the country’s schoolhouse doors to unauthorized foreign nationals and their kids.
As The Federalist previously observed, the high court’s ruling has led to American taxpayers having to “subsidize the education of these individuals” and schools “expend[ing] additional resources to grapple with the issue, such as working to accommodate those students who don’t speak English as a primary language.” The Volunteer State “spent $571 million on K-12 education for illegal aliens and the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens” in 2023 alone, according to an analysis by the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
Republican lawmakers specifically introduced SB 836 and HB 793 as a means of contesting the Supreme Court’s Plyler precedent. During remarks on the legislation last year, SB 836 sponsor and GOP Sen. Bo Watson reportedly said that the court’s 1982 decision “was the voice of the court being imposed on the people,” and that his bill “is the voice of the people being exercised through their elected representatives.”
A representative for Watson acknowledged The Federalist’s request for comment, but the senator did not provide a response.
The legislation’s progress during Tennessee’s 2025 session hit a roadblock, however, when HB 793 sponsor and House Majority Leader William Lamberth “pulled it from consideration” after a state review found that passage of the bill could cost the state up to $1.1 billion in federal education funding, according to NPR. The left-wing outlet reported that the majority leader sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education “asking how much of the potential $1.1 billion in federal funding would be at risk” should the legislature enact the proposal.
According to a February 17 report by Chalkbeat Tennessee, “Lamberth said earlier this year” that guidance from the agency “is forthcoming.” He also reportedly confirmed that GOP leadership wants to advance the bill this year.
Neither the Education Department nor Lamberth responded to The Federalist’s request for comment about the status of the requested guidance.
If the legislature fails to pass either SB 836 and/or HB 793 before the end of the current session (April 22), the bills will have to be re-introduced during next year’s session and reconsidered by both chambers. The legislation’s passage and enactment into law, however, would likely tee up lawsuits from left-wing activists seeking to challenge its legality.
These legal challenges could make their way to the Supreme Court for a potential reexamination of Plyler. Should the court rule in accordance with the Constitution, it would put an end to illegals’ decades-long abuse of American classrooms and tax dollars.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
