The Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program could adversely affect the number of teachers available for schools across America, including schools on the High Plains.
As The Washington Post reports, there are an estimated 20,000 educators in America who came to the U.S. as undocumented children. In Texas alone, there are around 2,000 such teachers.
The DACA program created by the Obama administration has allowed these undocumented kids to attend college and work in schools as teachers.
But the Trump administration’s announcement has left these teachers in limbo. Many states don’t have the luxury of losing qualified teachers. For example, Oklahoma was forced to approve over 600 emergency teacher certifications this year, due to a lack of qualified candidates.
Meanwhile, some Colorado school districts have been intentionally hiring DACA teachers in hopes of finding educators who empathize with growing immigrant populations.