Plyler v Doe Needs Reconsideration
By Joe Guzzardi
In Tennessee, controversial House Bill 793 and SB 836 that allow Tennessee school districts to deny enrollment to illegal alien students have taken another step toward becoming law. The bills would give permission to Tennessee schools to verify that, before enrolling them, children are citizens or have legal immigrant or visa status. Schools could then deny enrollment to the children who cannot prove their status or charge them tuition. The two versions differ in one key respect: the House bill makes it optional to check student immigration status. In the Senate version, immigration status checks are mandatory in Tennessee’s more than 1700 public schools and all public charter schools. The bills’ sponsors argued that the legislation is needed to both quantify the number of illegal alien students attending Tennessee schools and to protect the state’s limited financial resources. Opponents protested that the bill violates constitutional protections, particularly the 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Plyler v. Doe, which guarantees access to public education regardless of immigration status.
On both sides of the aisle, passions ran high. House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons slammed the bill, and repeated clichés like, “Our country has a broken immigration system” and that the bill is about “punishing innocent children.” During the committee hearing, from the GOP side, Rep. Monty Fritts said, “We’re not talking about immigrants, we’re talking about illegals. There’s a distinct difference. There is no greater act of rebellion in these U.S. than illegally coming across that border.” The National Immigration Law Center issued a statement after the Senate vote that called the action a “shameful attempt to take away Tennessee children’s freedom.” The immigration advocacy firm is, it said, “prepared to defend the right to education for all alongside our partners in court.”
In June 2024, the Federation of American Immigration Reform wrote that under Plyler v. Doe, local schools are obligated to provide illegal alien children with a taxpayer-funded K-12 education. The cost is staggering. The nation’s price tag for educating illegal aliens’ children in 2022 was $70.8 billion. The data preceded the historic illegal immigrant surge that began in 2021 when President Joe Biden took office. Using Florida Rep. Aaron Bean’s conservative estimate of 500,000 new illegal aliens in U.S. public schools, the recent influx has added at least $9.7 billion in additional taxpayer costs. Bean chairs the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, and summed up Plyler v. Doe’s effect on the nation’s classrooms in two words: “Wreaking havoc.”
Parents’ frustration with the ever-expanding illegal aliens’ enrollment is understandable. Every teacher minute spent with a non-English speaking student, some of whom come in and out of the classroom depending on their parents’ work obligations, is one less moment spent with a citizen pupil. The Nation’s Report Card which showed sharp declines in reading and math scores for 9-year-olds, is attributable to, at least in part, the steady arrival of non-English speaking pupils.
Plyler v. Doe must take into consideration the nation’s current population levels. In 1982, the year SCOTUS handed down its ruling, the U.S. had 232 million residents including roughly sixteen million legal and illegal immigrants. A Center for Immigration Studies analysis showed that government’s January 2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) fixed the foreign-born or legal and illegal immigrant population at 53.3 million and 15.8 percent of the total U.S. population— both new record highs. The January CPS is the first government survey adjusted to better reflect the recent surge in illegal immigrants. Unlike border statistics, the CPS measures the number of immigrants in the country, which is what determines their impact on society including education. Without adjusting for those the survey missed, the estimated illegal immigrant population accounted for 5.4 million or two-thirds of the 8.3 million increase in the foreign-born population since January 2021. CIS’ best estimate is that 11.5 to 12.5 million legal and illegal immigrants settled in the country in the last four years.
Given the dramatic illegal immigration surge over the last 40 years, states’ request to reevaluate Plyler v. Doe is a modest proposal. States spend billions to educate Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students while citizen children get less of their teachers’ attention. In the meantime, while Plyler v. Doe review plays out in the courts, the federal government, which writes and approves immigration law, should pay for states’ illegal aliens’ education, an unfunded mandate. The bills’ sponsors have said they hope the legislation could serve as a test case for the Supreme Court to revisit its 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision. “If Plyler v. Doe were to stand, the federal government might finally step up and send the states the money to fund these students,” said a GOP representative. On LEP programs, Congress contributes barely 1 percent of the cost despite the federal requirement for states to educate the children of illegal aliens. Congress’ indifference to citizen children’s diluted education while it funds an ongoing illegal immigrant surge into already overcrowded classrooms represents yet another America last policy.
Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org
Plyler v Doe Needs Reconsideration Plyler v Doe Needs Reconsideration
