Educators at Eastside Elementary in Chattanooga, Tenn., have spent years building trust with immigrant students and their families.
That trust was tested last year when fears of immigration enforcement led some families to leave the community, and the school saw its enrollment decline, according to Greg Wilkey, the school’s principal.
Now, that trust could be further tested, if not derailed, Wilkey said, if Tennessee lawmakers succeed in passing legislation this year that would require schools to defy federal law and collect students’ immigration status information.
“If we start tracking and recording and asking these questions, I just don’t think the parents are going to be as open or always willing to trust us on other things,” he said.
Tennessee is one of three states where policymakers are currently proposing action to limit undocumented students’ access to a free, public education by challenging tenets of the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plyler v. Doe, which granted these students that right. Four other state efforts launched since President Donald Trump’s re-election win failed, according to an EdWeek analysis. Influential entities such as the Heritage Foundation, and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, have supported such legislative challenges to undocumented students’ rights.
These proposals come amid heightened immigration enforcement across the country, including near school sites. In January 2025, the Trump administration rescinded a policy memo that protected schools from immigration enforcement activity. Since then, schools nationally have reported related absences, mental health concerns, and drops in enrollment.
As Tennessee educators wait to see if anything changes in state law related to undocumented students’ rights, some have taken to public advocacy on their students’ behalf, including the Hamilton County Principals Association, of which Wilkey is a part.
“We’re the ones doing the work, the teachers, the principals,” he said. “If policymakers do all this, and we sit back and say nothing, then we’re not doing our job to support and protect public education.”
What Tennessee’s proposed law would do
Earlier versions of the legislation would have allowed public schools to charge tuition or even deny enrollment to undocumented students—actions that conflict with federal law under Plyler.
The current version of legislation up for debate is narrower. It would require schools to collect immigration status information of all students enrolled in or seeking to enroll in public schools in the 2026-27 school year. That data would then be reported to the state in the aggregate. The current bill does not appear to specifiy what documents can be used to determine immigration status.
Schools do not already collect such information from families, as doing so could discourage undocumented families from enrolling in school, potentially undermining their children’s right to access a free, public education, experts say. That information is also irrelevant, they add, as under federal law, enrollment does not hinge on immigration status.
It would also be a logistical nightmare for schools, educators say.
“I have almost 800 students, so going through asking this question about citizenship, and then the review of all that documentation as students register, I can’t even imagine how many hours that would take, and we’re not set up for that right now. We don’t have the people to do it,” said Jill Levine, vice president of the Hamilton County Schools Principals Association and principal of Chattanooga High Center for Creative Arts.
There are also concerns about how parents would be able to fulfill the proposed documentation requirements, whether citizens or not. Wilkey, for instance, said he doesn’t have his own birth certificate on hand as a U.S. citizen.
Immigration advocates pushing back against Tennessee’s proposed legislation have also cautioned that any school staff in charge of reviewing immigration documents would have to be trained to work as though they were immigration judges to understand the nuances of various visa and refugee programs so they could determine whether students have legal status.
“We are not immigration officers. That’s not our job,” Wilkey said. “We are educators. We are here to teach children academic and social skills.”
Principals take a stand
State lawmakers have argued the legislation would provide transparency around the cost of educating undocumented students—a rationale echoed by organizations such as the Heritage Foundation in its model legislation for states to use to challenge the Plyler decision.
“Taxpayers should know how much they’re spending on education, on detention, or [on] any issue. And the fact that this data isn’t collected is, frankly, irresponsible,” said Lora Ries, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center.
But school administrators like Levine say education funding is tied to enrollment—not immigration status—meaning the cost to educate students is largely the same regardless of a student’s immigration status, and if students were to no longer enroll in schools out of fear, the schools would lose out on funding.
“We’re public educators. We’re built to serve every child, with no exception. It’s what we believe in, but it’s also the law,” she said.
As news of Tennessee’s proposed legislation first emerged, the Hamilton County principals association surveyed its members about whether they wanted to speak out against these efforts, Levine said.
An overwhelming majority said yes.
Recently, the association met with a delegation of state lawmakers to outline their concerns with collecting immigration status and ask that legislators not vote on any school-related immigration legislation this year.
One of the main concerns from educators is the potential impact on student learning from asking families about their immigration status, particularly now. Fear of immigration enforcement is already affecting students’ daily lives.
At Wilkey’s school, students’ family members have been detained during the school day, leading children to go home to a different person in charge.
“That’s a lot for children who are trying to learn, and they’re also now concerned about Mom, Dad, Aunt, Uncle, cousins,” he said. “That’s just a layer of stress that a child doesn’t need.”
Should other states take up efforts to limit undocumented students’ access to free, public education, Wilkey hopes educators there reach out to their representatives and explain the ripple effects on schools.
“I think it’s important that principals and educators use their voice, because we have one. We have a powerful voice,” he said.
