Gov. At a media conference on Tuesday, August 18, Greg Abbott proposed prohibiting Texas public institutions from accepting international funding and limiting their ability to employ H-1B card holders.
Abbott, who is re-electing in November, has made learning a key focus of his plan. He praised the professor reward system, praised the report education funding levels in 2025, and stated that his goal was to place Texas “on the way to ranking# 1 in educating our children.”
Education is crucial, according to Abbott, because” the minds of our students are shaped by forces that they are exposed to in our common institutions.” The government added that those ideas and the Texas educational system could be” compromised by foreign influence,” which made the governor’s proposals necessary.
He argued that Texas classrooms should be a safe haven for students to learn, develop, and flourish, as opposed to a have an indoctrinal setting for international organizations. ” The knowledge of our children should be free from foreign influences. My proposal may ban overseas investments, resources, and partnerships in our K-12 classrooms.
The president’s first proposal would forbid Texas public universities from “accepting gifts or entering into collaborations or other financial plans with foreign governments and the institutions they own, finance, or work through.” The Austin Independent School District’s ( ISD ) Arabic language program, whose funding is tied to Qatar, was specifically mentioned by Abbott. He even mentioned Confucius Institutes that are affiliated with the Chinese government and are present in Texas.
Sam Westrop, a mature fellow, and Kate Bierly, the Next Generation Texas campaign chairman, joined by Abbott and two other Texas Public Policy Foundation people.
According to Bierly, “foreign adversaries understand that one of the most potent ways to influence a nation is not through power, but rather through sweet energy,” Bierly told The Texan in a statement. They influence what children learn, what they believe, and how they interpret America. When foreign governments or organizations provide funding for education, teacher training, or education, they can get our classrooms and affect children at an extremely early age.
Bierly argued that” Texas ] schools should be places where]the ] children learn the truth, not places where foreign interests influence what they believe. Governor Abbott has shown me his concern for Texas rooms, Texas families, and the next generation, and I’m appreciative of him for taking action to address this risk.
Abbott’s alternative plan was to ban H-1B immigration holders from working in Texas public schools. According to him,” no Texas public school staff should be here on H-1B visas.”
About 500 H-1B visa holders in Texas ‘ public schools, nearly half of whom are employed by Dallas ( ISD ), are employed by The Houston Chronicle as of 2025. Following the January ice on hiring H-1B card holders in express offices and universities, Abbott enacted.
The government claimed that the federal government had put “limits on who can enter under H-1Bs.” This led to the increase.
” We need to get Americans or Texans to help inform our students.” He said in a nutshell:” Period.”
Texas would become the first state to outlaw H-1B card recipients from working in its public education system if the Legislature gave its consent.
