The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee passed the Senate version of a bill that would allow school boards to prohibit undocumented students from attending public schools. The legislation has stirred continuous debate throughout the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly — including during Tuesday’s committee meeting, where one protester was arrested by state troopers.
The bill (SB 836/HB 793) would allow public schools to deny enrollment or charge tuition to undocumented students. It passed the committee 7-4, challenging a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that guarantees the right of public education to all students regardless of their immigration status.
Protests stall House subcommittee
Legislators debated the legislation’s financial impact during the committee, where Republicans argued that restricting enrollment of undocumented students will save Tennessee money; no evidence has been shown to prove this.
While there are no records of the number of undocumented students in the state, bill sponsor Sen. Bo Watson (R-Hixon) said the rise in English language learners indicates a growing number of undocumented students in public schools. Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) argued that the bill would add extra work for school districts that might not have efficient tools to verify birth certificates or the immigration status of a student. Yarbro said he thinks it would add an extra financial burden.
80-year-old protester Lynne McFarland is arrested by state troopers after refusing to leave her seat at the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, April 1, 2025
“If you talk to districts and think about what it means to convert all 1,800 public schools into institutions that review the citizenship status of every student every year, that is going to be massively expensive,” said Yarbro. He later added, “There is just a moral cost to this.”
After the bill’s passage, a handful of protesters refused to leave their seats as the committee broke for recess and asked them to clear the room. State troopers were called in and convinced all but one protester to exit.
Protesters attend the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee, April 1, 2025
Eighty-year-old Lynne McFarland remained in her seat after troopers spent several minutes trying to get her to leave willingly, informing her that she would be charged if she did not exit the room. After still refusing to leave, McFarland was carried out by troopers, placed in a patrol car and taken into custody, where she was charged with disrupting a meeting and resisting stop, frisk, halt, arrest or search — both misdemeanors. See a video of Tuesday's arrest below.
The legislation will head to the Senate floor in the coming weeks.
Eighty-year-old protester Lynne McFarland being carried out of a Senate committee meeting by state troopers. pic.twitter.com/Q34nyE0fV7
— Nashville Scene (@NashvilleScene) April 1, 2025
