1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Dear Governor Abbott and Members of the Texas Legislature, I am writing as a Texas parent regarding the proposal to prohibit public schools from employing teachers through the H-1B visa program. I understand the appeal of prioritizing American workers, and I believe there are legitimate concerns about the H-1B program and whether it is always being used as Congress intended. However, based on my family’s experience with Texas public schools, I believe a blanket prohibition on H-1B teachers would be a mistake. Over the years, I spent a great deal of time at my daughter’s school and had the opportunity to see the impact of many of her teachers. Several of her foreign-born teachers immediately come to mind: teachers in Spanish, Chinese, science, and technology. They weren’t merely filling vacancies. They were some of the best teachers she had. Her foreign-language teachers were particularly effective. Having grown up speaking multiple languages themselves, they brought an understanding of language and culture to the classroom that is difficult to reproduce from a textbook. They could explain concepts naturally and make another language accessible to American students. I saw something equally valuable in her STEM classes. Some of these teachers brought tremendous academic rigor to the classroom. They were focused, diligent, expected students to work, expected appropriate behavior, and did not apologize for setting high standards. As a parent, that is exactly what I want from a public school teacher. That is why I believe Texas should judge teachers by merit and results rather than nationality. If an American applicant is equally or better qualified for a teaching position, I am perfectly comfortable with Texas schools giving that applicant preference. But if a school has the opportunity to hire an exceptional mathematics, science, technology, engineering, or foreign-language teacher who happens to require an H-1B visa, I do not understand why the State of Texas should prohibit the school from hiring that person. Our priority should be academic excellence: teachers who know their subjects, maintain disciplined classrooms, set high expectations, and produce results. I care far more about whether my child’s teacher can accomplish those things than I do about the country printed on that teacher’s birth certificate. Texas should also be careful not to solve one problem by creating another. If there are abuses of the H-1B system, address those abuses directly. Require schools to demonstrate a genuine need. Give qualified American teachers a fair opportunity to compete for these positions. Establish safeguards against using foreign labor simply to reduce compensation. But please preserve the ability of Texas schools to recruit exceptional people when those people can make our students better. Texas competes not merely with the other 49 states, but with countries around the world whose students are increasingly competing with ours in science, engineering, mathematics, technology, and business. It seems counterproductive to tell some of the world’s best educators that Texas schools are forbidden from employing them simply because they were born somewhere else. I support putting Texans and Americans first. I also believe putting Texas students first means giving our schools access to outstanding teachers wherever exceptional talent can be found. Please reconsider a blanket prohibition and pursue a policy that protects American workers while preserving merit, academic excellence, and local schools’ ability to hire exceptional educators.