(The Center Square) – Gov. Greg Abbott continues to unveil new education policies on the campaign trail.
Abbott, who is running for his fourth term as governor, has proposed several measures to improve public school education.
“What I’ve been conveying as I crisscross the state over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been talking about something no governor has ever talked about before and that is strategies that will put Texas on the pathway to ranking number one in educating our children,” Abbott said at a campaign event at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.
Abbott highlighted bills he’s signed into law to advance civics education requiring the teaching of America’s founding documents and the failures of communism.
“Our obligation is to educate students on how and why 13 colonies were able to come together to form a union and go on to become the most successful and greatest country in the history in the world,” he said. “What must be done going forward is to ensure the United States of America remains the premier country in the entire world.”
He said these standards “are being compromised by foreign influence” in the public classroom. He cited examples of money pouring into schools from Qatar- and China-backed entities. “We cannot condone the quiet indoctrination of our children in the classroom.”
Abbott’s proposal includes urging the state legislature to pass a law to prohibit public schools from accepting gifts, money or property or from entering into partnerships or other financial agreements with a foreign source. He’s also calling for a total ban on H-1B workers in Texas K-12 public schools.
“Exactly zero Texas public school employees should be here on H-1B visas,” he said. This directive expands on prior H-1B visa directives. Earlier this year, Abbott issued directives to state agencies and publicly funded higher education institutions to freeze H-1B visas petitions and launch a review of their current program use, The Center Square reported.
The H-1B program is administered and overseen by several federal agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the departments of State and Labor. It allows employers “to hire nonimmigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.”
The majority of H-1B visas holders are from India and China. The program has been found to be widely abused, resulting in nationwide prosecutions and visa revocations.
The majority of foreign residential buyers in Texas are in the country on visas, including H-1B visas, The Center Square reported.
“Foreign influence of any kind has no place in our classrooms,” Abbott said.
Abbott also highlighted examples of actions he and the legislature have taken to increase public-school funding and improve education outcomes.
Last year, they advanced a record $8 billion in funding for public education, a record $4 billion for teacher pay raises to hire and retain teachers at a higher rate, and a record $1.8 billion for the Texas Teacher Incentive Allotment. The allotment provides funding for more than 65,000 teachers in more than 800 school districts. Based on merit, it enables teachers to earn more money.
Through the program, Abbott said thousands of teachers are earning six figure salaries.
State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, who is challenging Abbott, began her political career focused on improving public school education. She first ran for school board and then the state legislature. Her key platform initiative is to “save Texas public schools.” Her priorities include ending the STAAR test, stopping the state from taking over failing schools, ending what she calls the “voucher scam,” firing the Texas Education Agency commissioner and replacing him with a teacher, eliminating no-bid contracts and increasing teacher pay.
Under Abbott, the size of the TEA has doubled, expanding bureaucracy, she says. More than 150 schools are closing, thousands of teachers have left the classroom and those being hired are uncertified.
According to TEA data, 52% of new teacher hires are uncertified. Last year, Abbott and the legislature supported a new state law requiring a reduction of uncertified teachers, The Center Square reported. State data shows the total number of uncertified teachers exponentially increased over the past five years, worsening student achievement, education experts have argued.
“As governor, I will make teachers in Texas among the highest paid in the nation, fire [TEA Commissioner] Mike Morath and replace him with an educator, and end the STAAR test once and for all. This is our last best chance to save Texas public schools,” Hinojosa said.
Hinojosa has supported bipartisan bills Abbott mentioned, including record pay increases and funding for classrooms. She helped negotiate an historic 2019 school finance bill, and last year helped reduce the number of STAAR tests. As a member of the House Public Education Committee, she worked with rural Republicans who opposed taxpayer money being used to help pay for low-income students to attend private schools.
