Abbott Calls for H-1B Ban in Texas Public Schools

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is expanding his push against the use of H-1B visas by taxpayer-funded institutions, this time calling on Texas lawmakers to prohibit public schools from employing workers through the federal visa program.

Speaking in Austin on Tuesday, Abbott said he wants legislation during the upcoming 90th Legislative Session, which begins in January of 2027, that would result in "exactly zero" H-1B visa workers employed in Texas public schools. The proposal would go substantially further than the action Abbott took earlier this year targeting state agencies and public universities.

The governor also called for restrictions preventing Texas public schools from accepting certain foreign gifts, money, or property or entering financial arrangements with foreign governments and affiliated entities. Abbott framed both proposals as part of a broader effort to prevent foreign influence over Texas classrooms.

While the two policies were announced together, they present different questions for lawmakers. Greater transparency and safeguards surrounding foreign government involvement in taxpayer-funded schools can be addressed through disclosure, accountability, and targeted restrictions. A categorical H-1B visa ban would instead dictate who local school districts may employ, including in positions where districts say qualified workers are already difficult to find.

That distinction will likely become important when lawmakers begin turning Abbott's announcement into legislation.

Abbott Expands His H-1B Crackdown

Gov. Abbott's proposal did not emerge in isolation. In January, the governor ordered state agencies under gubernatorial control and Texas public universities to freeze new H-1B visa petitions without written permission from the Texas Workforce Commission through May 31, 2027. Those institutions were also required to report how many H-1B workers they sponsored, their countries of origin, job classifications, and visa expiration dates. Abbott further required documentation demonstrating that qualified Texas candidates had been given a reasonable opportunity to apply for positions before an H-1B petition was submitted.

At the time, Abbott argued that taxpayer-funded employment should prioritize Texans and described the freeze as an opportunity for lawmakers to consider statutory guardrails governing the future use of H-1B workers. His latest proposal moves beyond that approach.

Rather than requiring schools to demonstrate that they first sought qualified domestic workers, establishing additional reporting requirements, or restricting the program in particular circumstances, Abbott is now proposing to eliminate H-1B employment from Texas public schools altogether. When asked whether the prohibition would cover only new applicants or existing employees seeking visa renewals, Gov. Abbott indicated that the proposed law would apply to all H-1B workers.

Texas Schools Do Use H-1B Workers

The H-1B program allows employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that generally require specialized knowledge and a bachelor's degree or higher. Although universities and related health institutions account for much of the education sector's H-1B employment, some Texas school districts have used the program to recruit teachers for difficult-to-fill positions, including bilingual education and other specialized roles.

Texas has reportedly become one of the country's largest users of H-1B workers in public education. Roughly 500 teachers were working in Texas schools through the program last year, with hiring concentrated in larger districts such as Dallas ISD and Houston-area districts. That is a relatively small number compared with Texas's overall teacher workforce, which totaled approximately 377,000 educators during the 2025-26 school year.

The statewide number is relatively small compared with Texas' overall teacher workforce. The policy implications, however, depend less on the statewide total than on where those teachers work and which positions they fill.

Foreign Influence and H-1B Employment Are Different Questions

Gov. Abbott announced the H-1B proposal as part of a broader campaign against foreign influence in public education.

The governor pointed to foreign financial relationships involving Texas schools and argued that classroom instruction should not be shaped by foreign governments or organizations. His proposed legislation would prohibit public schools from accepting certain gifts, money, or property from foreign sources or entering financial partnerships with them.

Lawmakers have legitimate reasons to examine those relationships. Taxpayers and parents should be able to determine who is financially supporting public institutions and whether outside entities are influencing curriculum, programs, or administrative decisions. But foreign government influence and the immigration status of an individual teacher are not necessarily the same policy problem.

An H-1B visa identifies the legal mechanism through which a foreign worker is employed in the United States. By itself, it does not establish that the employee is acting on behalf of a foreign government, advancing a foreign government's interests, or improperly influencing classroom instruction. That leaves lawmakers with an important question: whether concerns about foreign influence justify a categorical employment prohibition or whether those concerns can be addressed more precisely through transparency requirements, restrictions on foreign government relationships, curriculum safeguards, and stronger oversight.

Teacher Retention Is Already a Texas Policy Priority

Any H-1B prohibition would also arrive as Texas policymakers are already trying to address persistent teacher recruitment and retention challenges.

Those concerns are not new. Gov. Abbott created the Teacher Vacancy Task Force in 2022 to examine teacher workforce shortages, and its final recommendations focused on compensation, training and support, and working conditions. During the 89th Legislative Session (2025), lawmakers followed with billions of dollars in new education spending that included teacher pay raises, an expanded Teacher Incentive Allotment, and additional resources intended to strengthen the teacher pipeline and retain experienced educators.

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA) 2025 Annual Report similarly identifies recruiting, supporting, and retaining teachers and principals as a major state priority. The state created a Teacher Retention Allotment totaling roughly $1.5 billion for the 2025 to 2026 period and an Educator Preparation Allotment intended to support recruitment, preparation, training, and mentorship.

The workforce pressures remain visible in more recent data. A 2026 University of Houston analysis found that Texas traditional public schools lost more than 5,000 teachers between the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years even as student enrollment remained essentially flat.

Teacher workforce concerns are also carrying into the next legislative cycle. Gov. Abbott's new Texas Classroom Commission is specifically examining teacher recruitment and retention as it develops recommendations for lawmakers ahead of the 2027 legislative session.

That broader context complicates the proposed H-1B ban. H-1B teachers represent only a small fraction of the statewide teacher workforce, so eliminating their employment would not fundamentally reshape Texas public education. But the statewide number can obscure the effect on individual districts and hard-to-fill positions where those teachers may be concentrated.

Texas would therefore be restricting one source of qualified teachers at the same time policymakers are spending substantial taxpayer resources trying to recruit and retain more educators. That does not necessarily mean districts should have unrestricted access to H-1B workers. If lawmakers are concerned that districts are using the program instead of recruiting qualified Texans, they could require meaningful domestic recruitment before an H-1B worker is sponsored. Greater reporting could also show taxpayers which districts use the program, for which positions, and why domestic applicants were unavailable.

Those approaches would address concerns about displacement of American workers without automatically preventing a district facing a genuine shortage from hiring an otherwise qualified worker who is legally eligible for employment in the United States.

The Legislature Will Have to Draw the Lines

Gov. Abbott's announcement is a policy proposal, not an executive prohibition on H-1B workers in Texas public schools. Turning it into law will require action by the Texas Legislature. That means many of the most consequential details remain unresolved.

Lawmakers will have to determine how any prohibition would treat existing teachers, when it would take effect, whether districts would receive a transition period, how foreign funding and affiliated entities would be defined, and what enforcement mechanisms would apply. The Legislature will also have to decide whether an absolute H-1B ban is necessary to accomplish Gov. Abbott's stated goals or whether narrower reforms could protect Texas taxpayers and classrooms without unnecessarily restricting the pool of qualified workers available to local districts.

That debate is particularly important because Abbott's January directive took a more measured approach. It temporarily froze new petitions at state agencies and universities while gathering information about how the program was being used. The directive specifically contemplated lawmakers establishing statutory guardrails after reviewing that information.

The K-12 proposal instead begins with a predetermined outcome: no H-1B workers at all.

Texas Should Separate Transparency From Workforce Policy

Texas has a legitimate interest in ensuring that foreign governments cannot quietly use money or institutional relationships to influence taxpayer-funded public schools. Greater disclosure of foreign financial relationships, clear prohibitions against foreign government control of instructional decisions, and meaningful transparency for parents and taxpayers deserve serious consideration.

H-1B employment presents a different policy question.

If a school district cannot demonstrate that it made a reasonable effort to hire qualified Texans first, lawmakers have reason to scrutinize its reliance on foreign workers. If taxpayer dollars are being used to circumvent qualified domestic applicants or if the federal program is being abused, policymakers should address those problems directly. But an across-the-board ban would go considerably further by preventing districts from hiring a qualified legal worker even when no suitable domestic candidate is available.

Texas policymakers should be careful not to confuse protecting classrooms from improper foreign influence with preventing public schools from participating in a lawful employment program altogether.

The 90th Legislature will ultimately decide where that line should be drawn. Abbott has made clear where he wants it: zero H-1B workers in Texas public schools. The coming legislative debate should determine whether that absolute prohibition is necessary or whether more targeted reforms can protect Texas classrooms while preserving flexibility for schools facing genuine workforce needs.

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