A group calling itself The Right Place for Kids Coalition is urging Sen. Bo Watson to drop his support for legislation that would require schools to collect immigration information from students.
From the group’s media release:
The Right Place for Kids Coalition, in partnership with TN Progress, on Wednesday released a public statement signed by more than 100 Hamilton County educators, school board members, and administrators urging Sen. Bo Watson not to press HB 793 / SB 836 forward in any form
The release comes just days after the House passed its amended version of HB793 and as the Senate weighs what to do next with SB 836. It also follows last year’s public opposition from Hamilton County principals and Hamilton County school board’s vote to oppose the earlier version of the legislation.
The statement argues that Tennessee teachers are already being asked to be far more than educators, while schools in the state continue to operate with limited resources and major staffing strain.
It also cites a recent Immigration Research Initiative estimate that large-scale school-based immigration-status verification could cost taxpayers roughly $55 million in the first year alone, while noting that last year’s version of the bill raised concerns about jeopardizing more than $1.1 billion in federal education funding.
