Protecting Public Education
as a Promise to Every Child
Lisa Sherman Luna, TIRRC
W hen I first read the bills, my stomach dropped.
I’ve been organizing in Tennessee for more than a decade, and I’ve learned not to be surprised by anti-immigrant legislation. Still, seeing three bills introduced in a single session that would deny children access to public education felt like something different. These proposals weren’t just another attack on immigrant families; they were a direct challenge to Plyler v. Doe, the 1982 Supreme Court decision that has protected every child’s right to attend public school for more than 40 years.
At the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), we’ve helped defeat more than 250 anti-immigrant bills in our state legislature over the last two decades. But this moment carried national implications. If legislation restricting access to public education succeeded in Tennessee, other states would follow. Our members understood immediately: the education of all children across the country rested, in part, on what we did next.
I was honest with our community. I told them the odds were long. I told them we would likely lose this legislative fight, and we would have to challenge the bills in court.
They listened, and then they said, “Let’s fight anyway.”
That decision set everything in motion.
Starting With People
Like every campaign that matters, this one began by listening. TIRRC organizers quickly convened community calls, house meetings, and conversations with parents, educators, and advocates across the state. Education touches every immigrant family’s life, and people were hungry for a place to channel their fear, their anger, and their hope.
These early conversations weren’t about tactics. They were about grounding ourselves in what was at stake, not just for immigrant children, but for education as a public institution for everyone. Again and again, people said the same thing in different ways: Our children should never be political bargaining chips. All children deserve an education.
That clarity shaped everything that followed.
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