Thursday, March 29, 2012

Educators assail Tenn. bill seeking to exile legal immigrants from schools | The Raw Story

Educators assail Tenn. bill seeking to exile legal immigrants from schools | The Raw Story: The nation’s largest non-union teacher association on Thursday attacked a new bill in the Tennessee legislature for a provision that would prohibit the state’s charter schools from hiring too many legal immigrants, in what at least one conservative group apparently views as part of its ongoing crusade against Muslims.

The bill, due to be voted on next week, is known as the Putting Tennessee First Act. It requires that all charter schools in the state disclose all sources of private and foreign funding, and specifies that the state may not approve schools that are staffed in excess of 3.5 percent by immigrant workers on H1B or J1 visa programs.

Speaking to Raw Story on Thursday, Gary Beckner, executive director of the Association of American Educators, lashed out at the bill as unnecessary and counterproductive, insisting that lawmakers focus on educational innovation over restrictions targeting immigrants.