"Ft. Worth Recruits Bilingual Teachers from Mexico," by Greg Pulte, Ph.D.

 Ft. Worth Recruits Bilingual Teachers from Mexico

by

Greg Pulte, Ph.D.

With bilingual teacher training options not meeting the demand for bilingual teacher in Texas, Ft. Worth ISD recruits bilingual teachers from Mexico for the 2022-2023 school year (https://www.fox4news.com/news/fort-worth-isd-looks-to-mexico-to-hire-more-teachers).

For decades, educators have pleaded with the legislature to provide pathways and funding that would allow high-school students to receive university tuition and training in exchange for bilingual teacher service. These efforts have not passed the legislature. Some school districts offer tuition to high-school students to enter teacher shortage areas, however, shortage areas remain (https://www.dallasisd.org/Page/74935). A 2018 article in the TABE Journal suggests a shortage of 7,600 bilingual teachers exists in Texas (http://www.tabe.org/__static/8a1bf29d27807f2f855299def96d6afd/journal-2018-volume-20-1.pdf?dl=1).

School district provision for bilingual education in Texas has been a legal mandate since the fall of 1973, when the Bilingual Education and Training Act (S.B. 121) was enacted by the Sixty-third Texas Legislature and signed by Governor Dolph Briscoe. Despite this legal requirement, Texas has failed to provide the needed teachers. The law stipulates that “all Texas elementary public schools enrolling twenty or more children of limited English ability in a given grade level must provide bilingual instruction” (https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/bilingual-education#:~:text=On%20June%203%2C%201973%2C%20Governor,Education%20and%20Training%20Act%20(S.B.&text=The%20centerpiece%20was%20the%20mandate,level%20must%20provide%20bilingual%20instruction.), yet the State of Texas provides no mechanism to meet the required mandate of bilingual teachers. The shortage of bilingual teachers persists and student needs go unmet. I am still waiting for the class-action lawsuit to be filed. Texas is in violation of its own law. Search any school district human resource job webpage in the state and you will find bilingual teacher positions advertised.

Thank you Ft. Worth ISD for taking this step to address our students’ needs.