Nevada governor urges Trump to allow teacher visas

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Steve Marcus

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak prepares for a news conference on the coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Sawyer State Building Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.

Thu, Jul 2, 2020 (3:31 p.m.)

Gov. Steve Sisolak wants President Donald Trump to lift the suspension of a visa program blocking dozens of foreign special education teachers from taking jobs in Nevada.

In Nevada, the suspension of the J-1 visa program for educators would impact 95 teachers, 88 of whom were recruited to fill special education vacancies, the governor’s office said in a news release.

Trump issued a proclamation last month suspending a number of work visa programs in an effort to help American workers displaced by the coronavirus pandemic.

“The suspension of these visas undermines access to talents and skills that have historically enriched and enhanced our state and our nation and will potentially leave thousands of special education students without a teacher,” Sisolak said in a letter to the president today.

The Nevada Department of Education employs about 250 educators on J-1 visas at any given time.

The president’s proclamation would not impact those currently in the state but would prevent school districts from hiring nearly 100 new teachers for the upcoming school year, the governor’s office said.

In his letter, Sisolak asks Trump to amend his proclamation and provide an immediate exemption for these instructors.

In its current form, the proclamation would have “a devastating impact on our most vulnerable students, not just in Nevada, but throughout the entire nation,” the governor’s office said.

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