Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools.After more than a year of back-and-forth on a controversial Republican proposal to track the immigration status of Tennessee students, two dueling versions of the bill have stalled in the General Assembly. Lawmakers have just a few weeks to hash out their differences or the legislation will die with the end of session. But its Senate and House sponsors, both high-ranking Republicans, don’t want to yield on their separate versions.Sen. Bo Watson, a Hixson Republican sponsoring Senate Bill 836, has for two weeks considered whether to adopt a watered-down House version that would require schools to report anonymized data on student immigration status, or stick with a more hardline Senate bill that would allow public schools to charge undocumented students tuition. On Thursday, Watson deferred that decision by sending the measure back to a calendar committee, a procedural move that puts the legislation in a holding pattern. When asked Thursday if he thinks either version will pass this session, Watson said “I wouldn’t say that.”“This is a team sport, and I’m trying to figure out what the best path forward is for the Senate,” Watson said. “But again, the Senate passed a bill, so obviously the Senate likes its bill. The Senate should jealously guard the decisions we make, as should the House.”.subtext-iframe{max-width:540px;}iframe#subtext_embed{width:1px;min-width:100%;min-height:256px;}fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alpha-group/iframe-resizer/master/js/iframeResizer.min.js").then(function(r){return r.text();}).then(function(t){return new Function(t)();}).then(function(){iFrameResize({heightCalculationMethod:"lowestElement"},"#subtext_embed");});Watson eked out a 19-13 vote on the Senate bill last year, with some Republicans crossing the aisle to oppose the measure with Democrats. He has also faced growing pushback from educators and leaders from his district. “Children should not carry the weight of adult policy decisions when they walk through our doors,” said Dr. Jill Levine, principal of the Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts principal and vice president of the Hamilton County Principal’s Association. “Our job is to protect them, teach them, and support them, without conditions that could create fear or uncertainty in their daily school experience.Watson and the House sponsor, Majority Leader William Lamberth, rolled out a press release in 2025 to announce the legislation, which originally would have allowed schools to block undocumented students from enrolling altogether. They were explicit about their intent of the bill: challenging the longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent guaranteeing a right to free public education to all children in the country. But after months of heated debate and hundreds of protestors rallying against the measure, they’ve softened that language. “My intent is, as it has always been, to allow local governments to look at their financial situation and make a decision about tuition for students who are undocumented or not here legally,” Watson said Thursday. “That’s been the reason for the bill from the very, very beginning.”The House sponsor, Majority Leader William Lamberth, amended HB 793 last year after a fiscal review found it might endanger more than $1 billion in federal education money. There were also questions if the House Republican caucus had the votes to pass a more extreme version of the bill after the Senate bill squeaked by.It’s also not clear if the House version of the bill, which asks schools to collect immigration or citizenship documents but doesn’t have an enforcement mechanism, would rise to a Plyler constitutional challenge at this point. “I want to take some time to talk to my members about whether they think it’s worth moving forward, if the juice is worth the squeeze on that bill,” Watson said earlier this month.Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.
