NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A new bill sponsored by a Republican senator would shield school resource officers from having to report a student’s immigration status to the federal government in hopes of protecting children in schools.

Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Sen. Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga), would amend a law passed last legislative session that requires police to report a person’s immigration status to the appropriate federal agency, regardless of the individual’s age.

Gardenhire was the only Republican lawmaker to vote against the bill because it required SROs to report school-aged children.

“Somebody tell me where this 6-year-old ought to be punished like that?” Gardenhire said on the Senate floor in March 2024. “That’s where you’re separating the children from their parents.”

Despite Gardenhire’s impassioned plea, the bill passed anyway, but his concerns still remained.

“What is that resource officer going to do with a 3rd grade girl?” Gardenhire said. “Is he going to lock her up in one of the classrooms so she can’t leave at night, or is he going to stay overnight with her, or is he going to take her down to the county jail with all the other criminals? It’s not a well-written bill, and it needs to be cleaned up.”

Gardenhire’s new bill would exempt SROs from reporting a student’s immigration status.

“Protect children. I don’t care who they are, I don’t care what they are. We don’t need to punish children,” Gardenhire said.

In addition, the bill would create a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a law enforcement agency and/or officer who did not comply with the reporting requirements, at a judge’s discretion.

“We’ve left it up to the judges to decide whether a law enforcement officer is going to be penalized with a fine or not,” Gardenhire said. “It doesn’t mean they don’t have to [enforce the law], but whether they put a fine on it or not.”

Gardenhire told News 2 the previous piece of legislation was “badly written” by an outside interest group.

“This is a model piece of legislation that they promoted in each of the Southern states to try to get it done,” Gardenhire said. “They can go back to their sponsors and contributors and say, ‘Look what we did in Tennessee, by golly, we stuck it to them. Send me more money!'”

While many Tennessee Republicans are focused on tightening immigration laws, Gardenhire hopes they consider the children this session and pass his bill.

“Almost everybody in the Senate knows where my heart is on the issue of children,” Gardenhire said. “I think it can be done, and if it doesn’t, I’ll come back next year and do the same thing.”

The bill needs a House sponsor. If it passes, it would go into effect July 1.