Fort Bend Independent School District NEWS RELEASE FROM COMMUNITY RELATIONS Mary Ann Simpson, Chief Communications Officer maryann.simpson@fortbendisd.com    281.634.1100

**  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  **

Inaccurate information circulating regarding the recruitment of international teachers

FORT BEND ISD—Late yesterday evening, the district sent a response to a reporter with one of the local television stations regarding an email the station had received from a resident in Fort Bend ISD claiming that the district was hiring international teachers while at the same time laying off current teachers. 

The following statement was provided by our Human Resources Department and sent to the reporter who made the inquiry: “This report is based on inaccurate information. Fort Bend ISD does hire a limited number of teachers who hold H1B visas, but only to fill vacancies that no U.S. citizen is available to fill.  Fort Bend ISD teachers who are qualified to fill vacancies will be called and offered those positions as they become available. It is our goal to be able to offer as many teachers as possible the opportunity to return to work in this district.”

Today the district has received numerous media inquires regarding this issue, and would like to correct some of the inaccurate information that is circulating by providing responses to the following questions:

1. Why is the school district recruiting international elementary teachers despite the current reduction in force plan?  The district is not recruiting and hiring international elementary teachers. Fort Bend ISD has in the past hired a limited number of teachers who hold H1B visas, but only to fill vacancies that no U.S. citizen (teacher) was qualified to fill.  The practice of international hiring has all but stopped in the last year. 

2. What is the merit of recruiting from the international teacher community compared to hiring locally or domestically? What are the considerations?  Again, the district would only consider an international hire in a teaching area such as bilingual education or foreign language for which we have no qualified U.S. citizens.

3. How many foreign teachers does the district currently have and what is the plan for the short-term and long-term?  The district currently employs 97 international teachers, most of whom are on three-year visas. They generally serve in shortage areas. In the short-term, the district has no plans to do any international recruiting. In the long-term, the district may consider seeking foreign applicants, but only to fill high-need areas (for example, bilingual, math, or science) for which we have no qualified U.S. citizens.

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