VICTORY: Anti-Education Bill Dies as Tennessee Legislature Gavels Out
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2025
VICTORY: Anti-Education Bill Dies as Tennessee Legislature Gavels Out
Tennesseans prove the power of showing up — thousands of calls and emails, and countless voices stop attacks on children. “We’re celebrating this win — and we’re staying ready for what comes next.”
Nashville, TN – The Tennessee House of Representatives just adjourned for 2025, confirming that the bill to deny public K-12 education to children based on immigration status, HB793/SB836, is dead for this legislative session. This is a massive victory for Tennesseans across the state, including the children, families, educators, faith leaders, business owners, and everyday advocates who participated in the successful Education for All Tennessee campaign that sent the message: education is for ALL children.
Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and one of the steering committee leaders of the Education for All Tennessee campaign said:
This is a major victory — and it belongs to all the children, parents, educators, faith leaders, business owners, veterans, partner organizations, and the bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats who stood up for education for all children.
Because of your calls, your emails, your stories, and your presence at the Capitol, you sent a message lawmakers couldn’t ignore:
Every child deserves an education — no matter where they’re from. And no child should ever be used as a political target.
This is what happens when Tennesseans show up together — when parents, pastors, business leaders, educators, and students speak with one voice.
We showed lawmakers that Tennessee won’t tolerate attacks on children — and they were forced to listen.
But let’s be clear: The bill is dead for the 2025 session, but not forever. They can bring it back next year, and we have no doubt some will try.
So yes — we’re celebrating this win.
And we’re staying ready for what comes next.
Because this bill was never an isolated attack.
It’s part of a broader pattern of harmful policies targeting children and public education — while lawmakers like Sen. Watson and Rep. Lamberth continue to ignore the real issues that matter: making Tennessee more affordable, more healthy, and more just for everyone who calls this state home.
We’re proud of this moment. We’re proud of this movement.
And we’re already getting ready for 2026.
From day one of this legislation’s introduction, Tennesseans have made clear just how much they reject the idea of kicking kids out of schools for who they are or where they were born.
For weeks, Tennesseans have been showing up to committees, packing the halls of the legislature, and delivering thousands of emails and phone calls with a clear message: every child deserves access to public education.
The bill gained widespread opposition, especially as it highlights a continued attack on fully funded public education and implications for civil rights. Also opposed by numerous business owners, faith leaders, and educators, hundreds of Tennesseans have taken action by showing up at the state legislature, sending over 6000 emails and making over 3000 phone calls to lawmakers. Additionally, multiple local school boards have adopted resolutions, including the Hamilton County School Board, Murfreesboro City Schools Board of Education and Franklin County School Board, opposing the measure at the response of localized, on the ground organizing.
Tennesseans understood that this wasn't just a fight for the children of our communities, but that this bill had national implications should litigation make its way to the Supreme Court.
Upon introduction, HB 793 and its Senate version SB 836 were immediately opposed by more than 65 organizations who came together to form the Education for All Tennessee campaign. Steered by TIRRC, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment (SOCM), the Education Trust Tennessee, and the Tennessee Chapter of the NAACP, Education for All Tennessee partners or integral in educating Tennesseans about the legislation and mobilizing them to take action.
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The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration whose mission is to build power, amplify our voices, and organize communities to advocate for our rights in order to build a stronger, more inclusive Tennessee where people of all nationalities, immigration statuses, and racial identities can belong and thrive. Since its founding in 2001, TIRRC has grown from a grassroots network of community leaders into one of the most diverse and effective coalitions of its kind, a model for emerging immigrant rights organizations in the Southeast and throughout the United States.