However, while the $447 million initiative has been touted as a “universal" program for anyone interested, Republican leaders took steps to ensure that illegal aliens will be prohibited from participating.
“What's most important to know is that this language doesn't change anything about the state's obligation as it currently stands to educate children,” Lee told reporters on Wednesday after signing the bill into law during a ceremony. “But for this scholarship, it's only available to Tennessee citizens.”
Along with banning anyone who can't prove their legal residency status in the U.S. from participating in the latest school voucher program, Tennessee Republicans have also introduced a separate proposal that would allow local school districts and charter schools to opt out of enrolling a child who is “unlawfully present” in the country.
Sponsors of the bill say they are specifically hoping to challenge a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said states can’t deny students a free public education because of immigration status.
“Tennessee communities should not have to suffer or pay when the federal government fails to secure our borders," said Rep. William Lamberth, a Republican backing the bill, in a statement. “Our obligation is to ensure a high-quality education for legal residents first.”
A separate backer of the bill, Sen. Bo Watson, told reporters Wednesday that no school district or charter school had specifically asked for authority to remove undocumented children but said he believed it was necessary to help schools regardless.
