Educators hired in recent years on H-1B visas for hard-to-fill K-12 vacancies are waiting for renewals, forcing many from their schools 鈥� and, in some cases, from the country. Their sudden, unexplained departure has left students confused and brokenhearted.

The White House has also imposed a , inserting an obstacle cash-strapped schools can not overcome. 

sued the government last year over the charge, which was announced in September. A federal judge earlier this month , calling it an but the Trump administration has vowed to appeal. Like other immigration-related disputes involving the president, it could be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

No matter how that case plays out, the need for foreign-born educators has not abated: The Dallas Independent School District, home to 8,649 teachers, had 412 H-1B visa-holders on staff this school year, a spokeswoman told the 74. 

Public schools in Washington, D.C. had roughly 225 of 辞惫别谤补濒濒.听

鈥淭hese staff members have brought global experience, multilingual expertise, and broadened worldviews as valued members of their school communities,鈥� D.C. schools鈥� spokesman Evan Lambert said in an emailed statement. 

He would not elaborate on what the district might do without them. A Dallas schools spokesperson also declined to answer questions about the impact of federal immigration policies 鈥� or about plans to fill classrooms in these staffers鈥� absence.

Three teachers in South Carolina鈥檚 Lexington District One went out on unpaid leave earlier this school year because their work visas were not renewed on time, a spokeswoman said. Their classrooms have been covered by various educators, including substitutes.

A mother of two young children in the district started a May 6 to draw attention to their plight and 鈥渢o publicly acknowledge that they are loved and valued.鈥�

The woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said the district is scrambling to fill these newly opened slots, leading to concerns about quality instruction. 

鈥淭hese dedicated educators have been a LEGAL and vital part of our community for years, enriching our classrooms with diverse perspectives and unparalleled dedication,鈥� she wrote in the petition, which has been signed by more than 1,100 people. 鈥淟osing them isn’t just a loss for our school district; it’s a loss for our children, our community, and our future.鈥�

The woman told 社区黑料 she hoped the petition would alert other parents as to why these educators were suddenly gone. 

鈥淲e are in a deep, deep conservative state and it didn’t seem to be at the forefront 鈥� or even something people were aware of,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 change federal policy. I can鈥檛 change how these people are being treated or the things they are losing, but I can bring awareness to it.鈥�

Her elementary-aged daughter lost her tutor, who provided instruction in French in a dual-language program.

鈥淚 loved that whenever she would teach us, she would explain the steps really slowly 鈥� and if we didn’t get it, she would explain it a little slower,鈥� the child told 社区黑料 this week. 鈥淪he was always just really nice. She is my favorite teacher ever.鈥�

The little girl said she cried the first time she walked into the woman鈥檚 classroom after she left. She has seen her since, but can鈥檛 yet accept that the teacher might not be back.

鈥淪he paid some visits to the school and I have given her a hug, but I haven’t really said goodbye,鈥� she said through tears. 鈥淲hen she left, all of the happiness she gave me, I thought I was going to lose it.鈥�

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement the government enacted the H-1B visa fee to address concerns about the program’s integrity and to protect American jobs. 

鈥淲e disagree with this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump鈥檚 historic efforts for immigration reform,鈥� a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. 鈥淯nder President Trump and Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity 鈥� not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric.鈥�

The National Education Association found in 2025 there were in the United States, spread across some 500 school systems. Texas, North Carolina and California public school districts employ the greatest number of these educators, the organization reported. But the figures are an undercount because they do not include charter schools. 

The international teaching pool is critical for districts large and small, said , chair of the education department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She said, too, if the $100,000 fee were to stand, it would only harm students.

鈥淯.S. schools in general do better with stable teacher populations,鈥� Bartlett said. 鈥淎nd so when we bring in folks through the international labor market, we ought to be looking to see if they meet the standards of what we need for teachers to keep them, retain them, and then, our students will do better.鈥�

She added that while the issue plays out in the courts, schools might turn to another solution, the far cheaper J-1 visa. But it isn’t a flawless alternative, she said, because such visas are short term and prompt higher rates of turnover.

A showed that South Carolina in 2023 employed some 1,200 staffers with J-1 or J-2 visas, which allow for varied lengths of stay but often cap at three to five years. These hires had, on average, 11 years of teaching experience. Half taught math, elementary education, special education and Spanish. 

Ninety percent served in moderate to high-poverty schools, compared to 70% of the overall teacher workforce. Sixty percent taught in town or rural districts 鈥� 15 percentage points higher than the statewide average. These educators were concentrated in areas with greater attrition rates.

J-1 teachers generally plan for far shorter stays than H-1B visa holders, who can typically remain in the country for six years and often seek permanent residency. At 388, Dallas ISD employed close to the same number of J-1 teachers this year as it did H-1B visa holders, according to the district.

The 20 states that sued the government over the added fee noted H-1B鈥檚 importance in education in their , which cited a nationwide shortage of these and other 鈥渧ital鈥� personnel, including nurses, doctors and researchers.

鈥淲ithout access to skilled overseas workers, public schools would be forced to subject American children to larger class sizes, public research centers would lack staffing to support cutting-edge research, and hospitals would lose capacity to treat seriously ill patients,鈥� they wrote. 

The H-1B visa category was established in 1990 and has been used to bring over millions of high-skill workers in STEM and other fields: Some 400,000 such applications were approved in 2024, more than twice the number in fiscal year 2000, according to . Approvals peaked in 2022, when 442,425 applications were authorized.

Education and labor market experts say the administration’s efforts to curtail the H-1B program are in line with its other anti-immigration initiatives, including an attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or , from which thousands of teachers have sprung. 

U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston, after rejecting each element of the government鈥檚 case in defense of the H-1B fee, said . 

鈥淭he Defendants鈥� miscellaneous arguments that the President has the authority to impose the $100,000 tax based on his 鈥榠mmigration and commerce powers鈥� are nowhere to be found in the authorities they cite,鈥� he wrote in his June 8 ruling. 

Ulysses 鈥淯ly鈥� Navarrete, executive director of the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents, said the fee is not a policy, but a price tag, adding there is no way smaller school districts, community colleges and nonprofits can absorb the cost. 

鈥淭his is another attempt by this administration to attack diversity, equity and inclusion for all educators, students and the communities that we serve because when you simultaneously restrict who can enter this country and price out entry-level positions, you’re not protecting American workers … you are shrinking the talent pool of resources, especially at a time when we’re already facing a national educator shortage,鈥� he said. 

Gustavo Balderas, the new superintendent of the Puget Sound Educational Services District in Washington state, served at seven school districts before landing in his current position earlier this year. 

Three of those school systems employed foreign teachers, mostly on J-1 visas. Balderas said these educators filled critical slots as much needed native Spanish speakers, helping schools with their dual language programs. 

鈥淚t really is beyond the language, though,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are from the country and they are able to express the true authenticity of the culture to the kids.鈥�

At Acad茅mie Lafayette, a 1,400-student French immersion school in Kansas City, Missouri, two second-grade teachers had to stop working this spring because their H-1B visa renewals didn鈥檛 come through. Renewals for 13 others were coming up, a school leader .

Bartlett, of the University of California, said there are simply not enough American teachers to fill these spots and she鈥檚 not seeing any policy movement to fix that domestic shortage. 

So, instead, she said, schools have been benefiting from an international labor pool. But it comes at a cost 鈥� and not just in terms of high visa fees. 

鈥淲hen we recruit overseas, we are usually taking the most qualified teachers from those other countries,鈥� she said. 鈥淎lmost all countries that are economically less well advantaged than we are, and we are pulling from those countries, most notably, the Philippines 鈥� and Jamaica. Also Mexico. We disadvantage their schools, their economies and their children’s ability to learn and develop. So in many ways the whole system is problematic.鈥�

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, released guidance Thursday to states to proceed with . 

Child and nutrition advocates are glad to see it resume, but have concerns about the multiple steps needed to relaunch SNAP 鈥� particularly around states鈥� ability to quickly arrange payments through third-party vendors. 

Some 42 million Americans 鈥� including 16 million children, the elderly, veterans and those with disabilities 鈥� rely on SNAP for food.

鈥淭his is a unique situation,鈥� said Claire Borzner, director for Share Our Strength and its No Kid Hungry campaign. 鈥�There has never before been a pause in SNAP payments or a recommendation for partial benefits.鈥�

Borzner said states that issued incomplete payouts will need to ensure participants receive the remaining allotment.

The Trump administration first threatened to withhold SNAP benefits entirely for the month of November and then twice went to the U.S. Supreme Court in its legal quest to pay out only some benefits. It also moved to claw back money from states that went ahead and distributed 100% of benefits to their needy residents last week during a window of time when the USDA was authorizing it. 

SNAP benefits have historically not been cut off during prior shutdowns and President Donald Trump faced criticism that he tried to leverage Americans鈥� hunger鈥� 1 in 8 receive SNAP benefits 鈥� to break Democrats’ opposition to ending the shutdown. 

Crystal FitzSimons, president at the Food Research & Action Center, said states are moving quickly to resume aid, though she understands some families might not feel relief until it arrives. 

鈥淚t is very fluid and moving in real time,鈥� she said, speaking of getting the program up and running again. 鈥淭he delays have created so much stress for the people who really need food on the table. I totally understand why they would be worried, but the shutdown has ended and as soon as people see the money in their card, they should be able to take a deep breath and move forward.鈥�

But Melissa Boteach, chief policy officer at , an early childhood advocacy group, said 鈥渢here has been a lot of undermining of the basic government infrastructure necessary鈥� to get SNAP operational again. 

Boteach noted families have been suffering needlessly since the start of the month, making tough choices about whether to eat or pay rent and utility bills.  

鈥淭hese are the conversations American families have been having around the kitchen table,鈥� she said, calling SNAP a miracle and crediting it for preventing starvation-levels of hunger in this country since the 1970s. 

Part of the confusion about when the aid might arrive centers around the uneven distribution of benefits. Stewart Fried, a principal attorney at OFW Law in Washington, D.C., and an expert on SNAP, said 19 states have already issued full November payments 鈥� the ones the administration told to 鈥渦ndo鈥� those actions after the fact 鈥� while another 18 delivered partial allotments. 

Fried, who has represented many SNAP-eligible retailers on a wide variety of issues before the , Congress and in the federal courts, said states that issued partial payouts might need at least a week to disperse the remaining monies. The 13 states that sent out no money in November may face the easiest turnaround time.

鈥淔or states that have not issued any November benefits, that process should be quicker and benefits will hopefully be issued in the next few days,鈥� he said. 

Meanwhile, low-income families have been across the country all month while also relying on schools to help fill the nutrition gap for their kids, child advocates say. 

Ian Coon, spokesman for the Alliance for Education, an independent, local education fund that supports Seattle Public Schools, said his group set aside $150,000 for grocery store gift cards in October. The school community raised an additional $70,000 in recent weeks to bridge any further gaps as kids head home for the holidays, some to empty cupboards.

The alliance has already distributed $154,000 in funding for kids and families in need.

鈥淭here have been increased donations to food pantries,鈥� he said. 鈥淣early every local business has a food collection bin in the door and restaurants are still providing community meals or fundraising. This isn鈥檛 the time to standby. It鈥檚 the time to act and we鈥檙e so grateful to have the support of our community.鈥�

Erika Roberson, senior policy associate at The Institute for College Access & Success, a research and advocacy group that addresses issues like food insecurity in secondary education, said she鈥檚 glad for the 1.1 million college undergraduates who rely on SNAP. 

鈥淲hen students receive their benefits, they will worry less about where their next meal will come from and will be able to focus on their studies,鈥� she said, adding those who wrestle with food insecurity are more likely to struggle academically, taking on extra hours of work and leaving them less time to attend class. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge disadvantage.鈥�

SNAP benefits have been ensured for a full year and therefore won鈥檛 be subject to disruption when to fund the government that was approved this week runs out in January. Recipients also still face the effects of the $186 billion eliminated from SNAP as part of the administration鈥檚 landmark signed into law this summer.

Borzner called the most recent chaos around SNAP a manufactured crisis. 

鈥淔amilies should not have had to go through this pain,鈥� she said, adding that the government had the resources to pay benefits in full. 鈥淭his program could have continued to operate for November as it normally does. None of this needed to happen.鈥�

Lancaster, Pennsylvania聽

After surviving more than a decade in a Tanzanian refugee camp where learning was limited, Riziki Elisha, 11, wanted nothing more than to attend the elementary school just a few hundred yards from her front door. 

Though she could see the playground from her porch, she wasn鈥檛 permitted to partake: Paperwork delays left her sitting at home for weeks, spending long afternoons watching CoComelon, a cartoon created for babies and toddlers.

鈥淚 was very frustrated,鈥� she said with the help of a translator on a recent afternoon. 鈥淚 felt bad.鈥�

It鈥檚 been nearly nine years since the School District of Lancaster was for denying or delaying enrollment for young refugees 鈥� or for sending them to an off-site, for-profit alternative school focused on behavior management. The case was settled in  

But families, staff and advocates say the district, which serves kids in an , is once again erecting barriers that have left dozens of newcomer children idle in the past few years 鈥� some for months. A major contributing factor, they say, is Lancaster鈥檚 insistence on tuberculosis testing. 

Other Pennsylvania districts with sizable multilingual learner populations have chosen not to require a test for the infectious lung disease, including Philadelphia, Reading, Norristown, Harrisburg City, Pittsburgh, Lebanon and Chambersburg. Upper Darby does require TB testing. State officials told 社区黑料 schools 鈥渟hould not delay a student鈥檚 enrollment while TB test results are pending鈥� and that parents or guardians concerned about this issue should .

Another holdup, newcomer families note, is the district鈥檚 need for birth certificates. They can be hard to obtain quickly, and, according to federal guidelines, their absence Proof of address, they say, has also been an obstacle as some families initially struggle to secure permanent housing. 

Immigrant advocates, including staffers inside the district, say these students should be seated immediately while their families are given time to produce the requisite paperwork. The new arrivals, many of them behind their American-born peers, would be able to make fast gains, they argue, if granted speedy enrollment.  

社区黑料 presented its findings to the district, which said it wants students to be enrolled 鈥渁s quickly as possible when all requirements are met,鈥� 鈥� and those include TB testing for some kids.

It said the district鈥檚 clinic provider contacts families directly to schedule the tests and that it recently added a full-time bilingual enrollment navigator to identify and work with families “who are slow to complete the process.鈥�

State officials said schools have been able to opt-out of student TB testing since 1997 鈥� and many do. But not Lancaster.

It asked the state to keep its TB testing requirement for a specific group: newly enrolling students who have been outside the U.S. within the past six months. The district cited recommending testing for those who are at higher risk of exposure, including people 鈥渨ho are born in or frequently travel to countries where TB is common, including some countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.鈥�

The state is clear that enrollment should not be held up pending results.

Riziki鈥檚 father, Elisha Sumaili, who hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, told 社区黑料 through a translator that he was confused by the delay, which stemmed from his inability to immediately produce a lease. The family tried to enroll October 25, 2024, but his daughters were not admitted until November 22. 

Sumaili wants his children to hold tight to their education so they might one day become doctors. Instead, Riziki and her high school-age sister were kept out of the classroom.

鈥淲hen the kids were home, it was really bad,鈥� their father said in Swahili. 鈥淚t was bringing the family a lot of distress.鈥� 

Carolin Cruz, 29 and from the Dominican Republic, has always prioritized education, both for herself and her daughter. Cruz completed more than two years of college 鈥� she dropped out because of the cost 鈥� and wants 10-year-old Ferolin to go even further, which is what prompted the pair to move to the United States last fall, she said. 

鈥淚 want to see her become a great professional so she can have what I cannot,鈥� Cruz said. 

Public education in her home country is and expensive, she said: She鈥檇 have to pay for her daughter to learn English. Plus, her local school was overcrowded. 

鈥淚f there are 30 or 40 students, there is no way a teacher can pay attention to any one student,鈥� she said. 

She hoped for much better in the United States, but her daughter鈥檚 start date was delayed by two months, primarily because of the TB testing requirement. When she tried to schedule the shots, Cruz said she was told the only available appointments were weeks out. 

On two occasions, she said, the appointments were cancelled. 

Ferolin, a fourth grader who loves mathematics, said she felt sad sitting at home. 

鈥淚 was not doing anything,鈥� she said through a translator. 鈥淚 wanted to go to school so I can learn more. I would get up, help my mother around the house, and then I would be on my mother鈥檚 cell phone watching TikTok and YouTube.鈥�

Fifteen-year-old Kevin, whose family asked that their last name not be used because of immigration-related concerns, suffered the same fate 鈥� except his went on for several months. 

His family fled Cuba because the country lacked a 鈥渇unctioning economy,鈥� Kevin鈥檚 mother Neydis told 社区黑料. They arrived in the U.S. in March 2024. 

Neydis鈥檚 husband, a medical doctor in his home country, wanted his son to enroll in eighth grade right away. Kevin tried to register for school on April 16, 2024, but wasn鈥檛 seated until the next school year on August 26 鈥� mostly because of immunizations and the TB test. His mother said they sent the TB results to enrollment staffers several times and assumed they would call back with a start date, but the call never came. The family was forced to restart enrollment because the process had dragged on for so long.

Kevin spent those months at home surfing the internet and watching nature programs. 

鈥淚t was boring, I would just sit on that sofa,鈥� he said through a translator, pointing to a cream-colored couch in the living room. 

By the time the district admitted him, he had missed the rest of his eighth-grade year and had to go right into high school.

Born in a forest

Such delays are not unique: Rwamucyo Karekezi, who served as 社区黑料鈥檚 translator with the Sumaili family, is a refugee and immigrant community organizer with Church World Service. He estimates that he鈥檚 helped more than 100 children register in Lancaster public schools between 2021 and 2024. 

Karekezi, who noted that he was not speaking on behalf of Church World Service, said month-long delays are common 鈥� most of the children he worked with experienced them 鈥� and stressful on the families. 

Vaccinations play a key role in the delays, he said, as does proof of address. Many families initially live in temporary housing 鈥� Airbnbs and hotels 鈥� and can’t quickly prove they reside in the district, he said. 

鈥淪ometimes it takes months to find a house,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭his becomes a challenge for registration to go smoothly.鈥�

As for birth certificates, some children around the world aren鈥檛 issued such formal documents upon their birth 鈥� or their families might lose them in their chaotic journey to safety. Karekezi, 30 and who is also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, understands their plight.  

鈥淚 never had a birth certificate,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was born in a forest, not a hospital. In Congo, they don鈥檛 register kids like that. And even when you bring a birth certificate, they don鈥檛 recognize it: It鈥檚 a scrap of paper in another language.鈥�

Karekezi said he sent the district follow-up emails on students鈥� behalf, but they did little to expedite the process. 

While Lancaster has its own history of refusing or slow walking newcomer students鈥� registration, related issues are now playing out on the national stage: President Donald Trump pledges to deport undocumented families 鈥� 鈥� and opened schools to immigration enforcement actions. 

His conservative allies in multiple states seek to in a direct challenge to the Supreme Court鈥檚 landmark 1982 Plyler v. Doe decision.

Likewise, federal budget cuts have crippled the agencies that help immigrant families most, including , a faith-based group founded just after World War II that resettled more than 100,000 people in the United States in its first decade. Trump recently and even though that move was blocked in the court, he said it will . 

Lancaster鈥檚 local Church World Service office has recently shrunk in size and capacity. Once located inside a massive building on a well-traveled block, it鈥檚 now squeezed into an alleyway hidden by parking garages. It had to drastically cut services when it was forced to furlough 40 of its 67 staff members for three months at the end of January. Valentina Ross, its director, said she hopes to call some of those staffers back into the office soon.

After lost learning, big gains

Riziki Elisha has made great strides since starting elementary school just days before last year鈥檚 Thanksgiving break, her English language development teacher Laura Kanagy said. 

鈥淚n three months, Riziki went from knowing three- or four-letter sounds to reading and writing short sentences,鈥� the educator noted. 鈥淪he can identify the hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere. She can add and subtract triple digits and fractions. Imagine what she鈥檇 be doing if we had been able to work with her for those extra months?鈥�

Kanagy, who has taught at the district for 14 years, said she and her fellow educators 鈥渨ant the most time possible鈥� with these new students. 

鈥淓ach day that they sat at home in front of their TVs was a lost day of learning: 10 new vocabulary words, a few letter sounds closer to reading, a math skill important to navigating the grocery store, a social phrase to connect with peers,鈥� the teacher said. 

Enrollment also means these students 鈥� and their families 鈥� have access to myriad services, including English and GED classes for their parents, help obtaining eye glasses, clothing, food, dental care and other necessities.  

鈥淭he sooner they have access to English and literacy/math skills, the sooner they 鈥� and, therefore, their families 鈥� can make more of their own choices about how to live and participate here,鈥� she said.

Once admitted, Neydis鈥� mother said her son, Kevin鈥檚 experience at the school was excellent.

鈥淭he teachers are nice and just go out of their way using different teaching strategies 鈥� a game or whatever they could come up with 鈥� to help him learn,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e would come home very excited, very, very content. And this was a huge relief for me.鈥�

When Ferolin Nunez Cruz finally enrolled 鈥� she started the process on December 2, 2024, and wasn鈥檛 seated until January 27 鈥� she thrived in the classroom. Since then, she鈥檚 begun using simple phrases in English around the house, her mother said, including 鈥測es,鈥� 鈥渉i鈥� and 鈥済ood morning鈥� and shares what she鈥檚 gleaned with her mom and other relatives, helping them crack the language divide. 

鈥淪he is more focused in regards to her learning,鈥� Cruz said of her daughter. 鈥淪he is very motivated. And I want to say that I have received a lot of support from the teachers. They are paying attention to my daughter. I appreciate that very much because I really needed that.鈥�

Asked what she loves about the experience of an American education, Ferolin鈥檚 answer was simple: Everything. 

If she could speak directly to Lancaster school administrators, Ferolin said she would ask them to make the enrollment process easier for students like her.  

鈥淗elp us,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey have to help us to make it possible to go to school. They should help me get into school so I can learn many things so I can help my family prosper, to help them when it鈥檚 my turn.鈥�