Republicans across the country had hoped to trigger a lawsuit challenging the law that would bring the issue back to the U.S. Supreme Court, similar to how a state law in Mississippi led to the court overturning federal abortion rights in 2022.

The Supreme Court established the right to an education for all students, regardless of immigration status in a 1982 ruling in Plyler v. Doe.

The Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that wrote the blueprint for the Trump administration’s Project 2025 policies, called on states last year to pass bills challenging Plyler v. Doe.

Despite the multi-state effort, attempts this year to retry Plyler have all failed. Bills in Texas, Indiana and New Jersey stalled. Oklahoma’s Republican state superintendent put a similar measure before the state legislature, but Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt vowed to block it.

Tennessee’s version came the closest to becoming law. In April, the bill narrowly passed the Senate. Republican state Sen. Bo Watson, who co-sponsored the legislation, argued on the Senate floor that it addressed a financial issue.