U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski introduced legislation Thursday to exempt public schools from the $100,000 payment required under President Donald Trump’s 2025 H-1B fee proclamation, as Alaska districts struggle to staff classrooms with international hires.
The bill says petitions for H-1B workers coming to the United States to work for a public school or public school district would no longer need to be accompanied by that payment. It would create a narrow carveout for public schools and districts rather than rewrite the broader H-1B system.
“As soon as this proclamation was released last year, I have been sounding the alarm with the administration about the importance of the H-1B visa program to Alaska’s school districts,” Murkowski said in a news release. “Our public school classrooms have been facing a staffing crisis for years, but teachers in Alaska on H-1B visas have been instrumental in bridging that shortage and serving our students with talent and care.”
Trump’s Sept. 19, 2025, proclamation directed the government to restrict decisions on covered H-1B petitions not accompanied by a $100,000 payment, while also allowing the Homeland Security secretary to grant exceptions in the national interest. Murkowski’s bill would write a public-school exemption directly into law.
Alaska Public Media reported this month that nearly 600 international teachers are working in the state, including 341 on H-1B visas. The outlet also reported 345 certified teacher openings on the first day of school this year and more than 900 teacher and staff vacancies currently listed on the statewide education job board.
“International teachers are essential to keeping classrooms open across Alaska,” said Lisa Parady, executive director of the Alaska Council of School Administrators. Parady said 573 educators — about 8.5% of Alaska’s teaching workforce — are serving on visas and that more than half of the state’s school districts depend on them. Districts already spend between $6,000 and $12,000 per teacher to recruit and sponsor H-1B educators, she said, and “adding a $100,000 federal visa fee has made it financially impossible for many districts to continue hiring the teachers their students depend on.”
Alaska Public Media also reported this week that many districts have leaned on H-1B hires as other visa options have become harder to use in remote communities, and that some are now weighing whether they can afford to replace departing teachers at all.
“The recent $100,000 H-1B visa fee has made it impossible for districts like ours to continue recruiting the educators we need,” said Cyndy Mika, superintendent of the Kodiak Island Borough School District. Nearly 20% of Kodiak’s teachers are on visas, she said, and almost 75% of its village teachers are international hires. “These educators are not replacing American teachers. We simply do not have applicants for these positions.”
Tammy Dodd, superintendent of the Bering Strait School District, said the problem is especially acute in rural Alaska, where districts have fewer alternatives.
“As many districts across the state of Alaska have experienced budget deficits, having to pay a $100,000 H-1B visa fee for each incoming international teacher is unrealistic,” Dodd said. Bering Strait employs 86 international teachers, roughly 40% of its certified staff.
“In the Kuspuk School District, international teachers are not a supplement to our workforce. They are essential to keeping schools open,” said Madeline Aguillard, superintendent of the Kuspuk School District.
Andrew Anderson, superintendent of the Lower Kuskokwim School District, said the federal payment is “an additional and insurmountable barrier” for rural students who already face major obstacles to equitable learning opportunities.
Murkowski wrote to then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Oct. 8, 2025, urging the department to use its waiver authority to exempt teachers from the fee. Alaska Public Media reported that her office had been working on a legislative fix as districts began recruiting for the next school year.