MFISD superintendent challenges governor on proposed H-1B teacher ban
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Marble Falls Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Jeff Gasaway sent a letter on Tuesday, Aug. 25, to Governor Greg Abbott, condemning the governor’s recent proposal to ban foreign teachers with federal H-1B visas from working in Texas public schools. According to Dr. Gasaway, MFISD relies on H-1B teachers to accommodate the district’s large number of emergent bilingual students.
Dr. Gasaway’s letter challenged the governor’s proposal, and ultimately invited him to visit MFISD to see how the H-1B program impacts the district.
“I invite you, Governor Abbott, to come visit us here in Marble Falls ISD anytime,” reads the superintendent’s letter. “We would be happy to show you the amazing ways our H-1B Visa teachers are reaching our neediest students and setting an educational foundation that will lead our students to achieve their fullest potential.”
The H-1B program is a federal visa pathway that is, in the U.S. Department of Labor’s words, “intended to help employers who cannot otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S workforce by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States.”
According to Gasaway, MFISD has employed between 4-12 H-1B teachers every year since 2018 to help fill gaps in the need for bilingual teachers to serve the large emergent bilingual Spanish-speaking student population.
“The majority of our student population is Hispanic, while 62 percent is economically disadvantaged, and 24 percent is identified as emergent bilingual,” Gasaway wrote. “There simply aren’t local teachers lining up who can fill these (bilingual) positions. We as public school districts do a disservice to our students if we do not execute due diligence in trying to find and hire the best teachers for these positions, even if that means we have to look out of state, or even out of the country in order to do so.”
Governor Abbott laid out a proposal on Aug. 18 to prohibit the employment of H-1B teachers in Texas public schools to help prevent “foreign influence.”
“I am also calling for legislation that will put a total ban on H-1B workers in Texas public schools,” Abbott said during an Aug. 18 press conference. “Exactly zero Texas public school employees should be here on H-1B visas. Foreign influence of any kind has no place in our classrooms.”
Abbott’s press conference centered on his concerns of the spread of Islamic extremism in public schools. He was backed up by Kate Bierly, the campaign director for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
“There is no circumstance in which it is acceptable that Texas children should be indoctrinated with radical Islamic ideologies in Texas schools,” Bierly said. “It’s essentially a black box right now. We don’t know the extent of foreign influence other than the occasional news story that pops up or the public information requests that we send out or other public policy organizations will send out as well.”
Gasaway told DailyTrib that, to his knowledge, there was no local push for “radical Islamic ideologies” in MFISD.
“I have no concerns about our H-1B visa teachers,” he said. “I have no concerns about any sort of religious influence or any other influence that would be of concern to our school board or community.”
Gasaway added that he felt compelled to reach out to the Governor after the proposed H-1B ban was announced last week.
“I feel like it’s important as the superintendent of MFISD to advocate for our students and community,” he said.
Read Gasaway’s full letter below: