A changing American landscape also means students are experiencing change – and challenges.
My latest at The Education Report offers resources for educators.
All of us are watching a nation that is changing.
If it is difficult for adults to understand, it is also challenging for students.
As the “AI School Librarian” notes:
Our students need adults who can stay steady, protect their dignity, and respond with something more than silence.
Over at The Education Report, I explore a post that provides resources for students during uncertain times.
Students in places where ICE is active need safety and stability.
Students watching this from a distance need understanding and help with processing.
The truth is out there – and it matters.
Despite the Knox County School Board voting to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to reject efforts to ask schools to enforce immigration law/ask for proof of legal status, the district’s Superintendent indicates he’s ICE-friendly.
Specifically, WATE-TV reports:
With the ongoing push for immigration enforcement, some are wondering whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be allowed come into Knox County Schools.
KCS Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk stated that the schools would have the same protocols with ICE as with any other law enforcement agency, saying, “We will follow the law.” He also specified that there had not been a situation where ICE had asked to enter a KCS classroom.
A KCS spokesperson added weasel words:
“KCS takes the safety and security of our school campuses seriously. We do not give any entity access to students or educational records without legal authorization. In accordance with state and federal law, we do not maintain records on the immigration status of students,” a KCS spokesperson said. “As always, we will follow the law and we will verify any documents necessitating access to school campuses through the Knox County Law Department. Our priority is and always will remain the safety of our students.”
Let’s be 100% clear: Allowing ICE on school campuses threatens the safety of students, teachers, and school communities. Anything short of a refusal to allow ICE to come on to school property is the same thing as saying you are OK with ICE and with the disruption and threat to safety they pose.
Educators who wish to put students first will reject the tactics of ICE, period. Those, like the Knox County Director of Schools, who suggest cooperation with a masked, paramilitary group that demonstrates zero accountability are, in fact, a part of the problem.
Dr. Rysewyk, your policy of appeasement is noted, and students in your care are less safe because of it.
Tennessee Republican lawmakers, eager to prove their allegiance to Trump, have filed a raft of bills on immigration. And, they say they are considering a measure requiring schools to collect immigration information.
NewsChannel9 reports:
Lawmakers confirmed they are considering a proposal involving the collection or verification of immigration status data for K-12 students, but said details are still being worked out. Leaders said they are waiting on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, particularly regarding potential impacts on federal funding.
It remains unclear how data would be stored or whether it would be shared beyond education agencies.
Some school districts are already speaking out in opposition to the effort:
Rep. Gabby Salinas of Memphis has filed a bill that would prevent ICE activities at Tennessee public schools.
The legislation, HB1482, provides protections, as summarized:
As introduced, prohibits the use of certain public properties, schools, and religious institutions for certain civil immigration enforcement activities; requires state departments and agencies to make available to the public certain information concerning person’s rights with regard to federal agents.
The Knox County School Board is asking the General Assembly to reject legislation that would require schools to check for immigration documentation before allowing a student to attend.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports:
The Knox County school board will ask Tennessee legislators to stop a bill that could block public education for undocumented immigrants.
The legislature in 2026 could once again take up a bill designed to challenge established rules allowing those without legal status to have the same education access as those who were born here. Board members used their annual legislative priorities list to say they want to educate all students regardless of their immigration status.
The board voted 6-3 to include the priority with two Republicans joining the Democratic minority Dec. 4. Members Betsy Henderson, Lauren Morgan and Steve Triplett voted against it.
Should schools act as immigration enforcement agents?
The Knox County School Board will soon take a vote on whether or not to actively oppose state legislation on the issue.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel has more:
Knox County school board members will decide Dec. 4 whether to support a Tennessee bill requiring schools to verify students’ immigration status before allowing them into the classroom.
The General Assembly could take up a bill in 2026 designed specifically to challenge a 1982 Supreme Court decision that guarantees access to public schools for all children regardless of their immigration status. Two school board members – Katherine Bike and Anne Templeton – are urging their colleagues to tell lawmakers the Knox County school board opposes the bill.
If some Tennessee lawmakers get their way, Tennessee schools could be on the frontlines of the Trump Administrations aggressive and inhumane immigration crackdown.
A piece in the Knoxville News-Sentinel explains:
Earlier this year, the Tennessee Senate passed SB836, a bill that would allow public schools to deny undocumented children access to public K-12 education. This legislation directly challenges the landmark 1982 Supreme Court decision Plyler v Doe, which held that all children in the United States are entitled to a free public education, regardless of immigration and citizenship status.
The companion bill, HB793, stalled in the House, but it is expected to return for consideration in January.
One provision in the bill would require all public schools to collect the immigration and citizenship status of every child who enrolls, regardless of whether the district intends to exclude undocumented children.
The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition issued a statement from Executive Director, Lisa Sherman Luna, following the defeat of legislation sponsored by William Lamberth and Bo Watson that would have excluded some children in the state from the ability to access public schools.
“This victory is a hard-fought win that has come from months of work from our team, organizers, campaign partners, faith leaders, educators, business owners and more – Tennessans who understand the importance of fighting for the safety and protection of our children and families, no matter where they live. For now, our children are able to attend public school and receive an education, but this past year taught us how quickly our rights can be stripped from us by the same lawmakers who were elected to look out for everyone in our state, not just a select few.
The Trump administration’s immigration policies are emboldening extremism here in Tennessee, but we are determined to show both our state leaders and the administration that they cannot enact this egregious agenda without a fight.
Our battle is ongoing: The state now has its first-ever Chief Immigration Enforcement Officer – a former ICE agent – and it is now a felony for local lawmakers to vote in favor of policies protecting immigrant families. Despite the challenges that these new rules will bring, we are more prepared than ever to continue telling the stories and fighting for the rights of our communities.”
The Education Wars picked up the story of a cruel bill that sought to deny education to the children of immigrants based on the legal status of their parents. The measure, led by Sen. Bo Watson and Rep. William Lamberth, did not advance despite the persistence of its two leading advocates.
Then there is Tennessee, where odious legislation that would have given public schools the right to turn away undocumented students, or charge them tuition, collapsed this week due to widespread opposition. A broad coalition of groups, sixty five strong, including the Tennessee Chapter of NAACP, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM) — one of my favorite grassroots organizing groups—and an array of immigrant rights organizations helped bring this thing down.
Local school officials played a key role too. The Hamilton County School Board, representing the largest school system in the home district of Bo Watson, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, voted unanimously to condemn the legislation last week, and every one of the district’s 79 school principals came out in opposition.