Texas GOP Governor Greg Abbott is proposing a full ban of all H-1B visas which allow foreign workers to fill jobs in the state’s public schools as well as a ban on accepting foreign education funding and programs.
The proposal is part of Abbott’s plan to further limit the influence foreigners have on Texas’s school children.
“The minds of our students are driven by influences that they are exposed to in our public schools. Those minds should be shaped by policies that are approved by state lawmakers,” Abbott said in a statement, according to Texas Scorecard.
Abbott decried the inflow of foreign money into K-12 curricula in the state. For example, the Austin Independent School District took money from Muslim Qatar to support Arabic language and cultural instruction. The district also imported teachers from Qatar via the H-1B program. Other schools launched similar programs with Chinese backing and imported Chinese teachers.
“We cannot condone the quiet indoctrination of our children in the classroom,” Abbott exclaimed.
Abbott is asking the state legislature to end the ability of Texas schools to accept gifts, money, or property from foreigners and to prevent them from entering into contracts with foreign companies, entities, governments, or individuals.
The Texas Public Policy Foundation joined Abbott in his call to end foreign influence in Texas schools.
Kate Bierly, the Campaign Director for Next Generation Texas at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, noted that rules for schools to report foreign influences are not very stringent in Texas right now, and that needs to change.
“There is no circumstance in which it is acceptable that Texas children should be indoctrinated with radical Islamist ideologies in Texas schools,” Bierly said.
Along with an end to foreign programs and donations to Texas schools, Abbott is also calling for a ban on foreign workers via the H-1B visa program.
“Exactly zero Texas public school employees should be here on H-1B visas. This expands on my prior directive, freezing new H-1B visa petitions in all state agencies and all state universities,” the gov. said.
Abbott had already ordered a freeze on H-1B visa petitions in hiring for state jobs and state-funded institutions of higher education. But now he wants them banned from all state-funded education.
As Breitbart News previously reported, schools in many states import many H-1Bs for teaching jobs. “Over 500 public K-12 school districts in the United States collectively employ over 2,300 H-1B visa holders,” the National Education Association reported in October 2025.
The districts include Dallas, New York, and the District of Columbia, the site reported, adding, “These districts include the Bering Strait School District (35 approvals) and the Lower Kuskokwim School District (20) in Alaska.”
“We’re tired of the federal government not putting limits on who can come in under H-1Bs, and because of the federal government’s failure to control H-1B visas, Texas is having to put our foot down,” Abbott said, adding, “We need to find Texans or Americans who can educate our students. Period.”
“For public schools, no H-1B visa applicants or current users can be employees in Texas public schools,” Abbott concluded.
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