Local Education Agencies

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on how tuition amounts will be determined, only that it must meet certain criteria.

Rules for Enrolling Students in Tennessee Schools

This bill changes how local education agencies and charter schools handle enrollment of students who are not legally allowed to be in the United States.

What This Bill Does

• Requires an LEA or public charter school to enroll a student if they provide proof that the student is a U.S. citizen, applying for citizenship, or has legal immigration status.
• Allows schools to refuse enrollment without tuition payment if documentation does not meet criteria and appeals are exhausted.
• Sets rules for uniform tuition amounts for students who do not meet criteria but want to attend school.
• Gives students the right to appeal a refusal of enrollment based on their documentation.
• Ensures no student is denied enrollment during the appeal process.

Who It Names or Affects

• Local education agencies and public charter schools in Tennessee
• Students who want to enroll in these schools

Terms To Know

LEA

Local Education Agency, which is a school district or other local organization that manages public schools.

Tuition

Money paid to attend a school or college.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill may jeopardize federal funding but the exact amount and timing are not clear.
• It applies starting from the 2026-2027 school year.

Official Summary Text

ON APRIL 10, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENTS #1 AND #2 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 836, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites the bill to, instead, make the following revisions to present law:



Requires an LEA or public charter school to enroll a school-age student who resides within the geographic boundaries of the LEA or public charter school and who provides documentation establishing that the student (i) is a citizen of the United States; (ii) is in the process of obtaining citizenship; or (iii) holds a legal immigration or visa status.



Requires an LEA or public charter school to require that each student who seeks to enroll in the LEA or public charter school provide documentation to establish that the student meets one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above prior to enrolling the student.



Authorizes, if a student or the parent or guardian of a student is unable to provide such documentation, and has exhausted all available appeals, the LEA or public charter school to elect not to enroll the student without the student or the parent or guardian of the student paying tuition. However, an LEA or public charter school is not required to charge a student who does not meet one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above tuition in order to enroll in the LEA or public charter school. An LEA or public charter school must not refuse to enroll any such student in the LEA or public charter school without first allowing the student to enroll upon payment of tuition.



Requires each LEA and public charter school that elects to enroll students upon payment of tuition who do not meet one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above to annually establish a uniform tuition amount for such students.



Requires, generally, the uniform tuition amount to be no less than the base funding amount for the respective school year; to not exceed the total average per pupil funding amount for the LEA for the respective school year; and to be paid in full before the student is enrolled.



Authorizes, if an LEA or public charter school determines that the documentation provided by a student or a student's parent or guardian does not establish that the student meets one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above and that the student is not eligible to enroll in the LEA or a public charter school without paying tuition, the LEA or public charter school to refuse to enroll the student if tuition is not paid. The LEA or public charter school must immediately notify the student or the student's parent or guardian in writing of its decision and of the student's or the parent's or guardian's right to appeal the LEA's or public charter school's decision to the department of education no later than 21 days from the date of the decision.



Authorizes the student or the parent or guardian of a student who is being denied enrollment without first paying tuition to appeal the LEA's or public charter school's decision to the department of education no later than 21 days from the date of the LEA's or public charter school's decision. The party who files an appeal with the department is entitled to an expedited hearing before the department and bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the student meets one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above. If the department determines on appeal that the student does not meet one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above, then the department must notify the student, or the student's parent or guardian, and the LEA or public charter school of its determination.



Prohibits a student from being denied enrollment, even without first paying tuition, during the 21-day window for appealing the LEA's or public charter school's decision or during the appeal proceedings before the department. If the student is enrolled in an LEA or public charter school during either of those times, then the LEA or public charter school must not remove the student from school during either of those times.



Authorizes, if the student or the student's parent or guardian does not appeal the LEA's or public charter school's decision that the student does not meet one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above, or if the department determines on appeal that the student does not meet one of the criteria in (i)-(iii) above, either of the following:



The LEA or public charter school to condition the student's enrollment or continued enrollment in the LEA or public charter school on the payment of tuition by the student or the student's parent or guardian. Tuition must be determined pursuant to this amendment and may be prorated based on the number of days the student will be enrolled, if enrollment is not for a full school year.



If the student is enrolled in the LEA or public charter school when the student's 21-day appeal period expires or when the department's determination on appeal is issued, and if the LEA or public charter school requires payment of tuition for the student's enrollment, the LEA or public charter school to remove the student from school but only for nonpayment of tuition.



Provides that all records relating to the legality of a student's presence in the United States and all correspondence between an LEA or public charter school and the department of education for purposes of this amendment are confidential records.



Requires the state board of education to promulgate rules, including emergency rules, to effectuate this amendment. The rules must, at a minimum, establish the appeal process required in this amendment.



Applies the provisions of this amendment to the 2025-2026 school year and subsequent school years.

AMENDMENT #2 makes technical corrections.

ON MARCH 16, 2026, THE HOUSE SUBSTITUTED SENATE BILL 836 FOR HOUSE BILL 793, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #2, AND PASSED SENATE BILL 836, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #
2
rewrites this bill to require that,

beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each LEA and public charter school require all school-age students enrolled in the LEA or public charter school, or who seek to register or enroll in the LEA or public charter school, to produce documentation to e
stablish that the student:

(1) Is a citizen of the United States;

(2) Is in the process of obtaining United States citizenship;

(3) Holds a valid legal immigration or visa status; or

(4) Is subject to pending immigration proceedings in which a final order of removal has not been issued.

This amendment requires each LEA and public charter school to, for the 2026-2027 school year and for each school year thereafter, report to the department of education the number of students who:

(1) Enrolled in the LEA or public charter school;

(2) Produced documentation sufficient to establish that the student meets one of the criteria in (1)-(4) above;

(3) Failed or refused to
produce documentation, including in the report the reason provided by the student or the student's parent for their failure or refusal to comply;

(4) Produced documentation insufficient to establish that the student meets one of the criteria in (1)-(4); and

(5) Produced documentation establishing that the student meets one of the criteria in (1)-(4).

The reports required by this amendment must not include any personally identifiable information for a student or a student's parent. The department of education must annually compile the information received from each LEA and public charter school and r
eport the same to the department of finance and administration, the centralized immigration enforcement division within the department of safety, the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives.

This amendment specifies that an LEA or public school, including a public charter school, that enrolls a student who failed or refused to produce the documentation described (1)(-(4), or who produced documentation insufficient to establish that the stude
nt meets one of the criteria in (1)-(4) is not implementing a sanctuary.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 836
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 793
By Lamberth

HB0793
001830
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4 and
Title 49, relative to persons unlawfully present in
the United States.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 6, Part 30, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, an LEA or public charter school may
enroll, or refuse to enroll, a student who is unlawfully present in the United States.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.