A bill proposed in Nevada that would make it easier for immigrants with temporary legal status to get teaching licenses has passed through a state education committee.
The bill, A.B. 27, would make it easier for beneficiaries of Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — known as DREAMers — to get hired by Nevada school districts.
The Nevada Assembly Education Committee passed A.B. 27 on Wednesday. It will head to a floor vote, CBS Las Vegas reported.
Under current law, school districts may hire non-citizens with work permits only whenever there is a teacher shortage. Otherwise, districts may only hire U.S. citizens or legal residents.
What A.B. 27 will do, if passed, is strike the language pertaining to the teacher shortage from existing law.
Text from A.B. 27
Some school district officials and teachers welcome the change, citing widespread teacher shortages in districts across the state.
“These are individuals that were basically raised and educated through our public education system and have paid for their college, and they’re not able to fulfill that dream of becoming a teacher,” Olivia Diaz, a Las Vegas Democratic Assemblywoman and a teacher, told FOX News Latino.
Some limitations will be placed on any DREAMers hired upon the bill’s passage. Teaching licenses will not be transferable to other counties, for instance.