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Subcommittee approves adding local immigration counsel for educator visas
Summary
Framingham Public Schools’ subcommittee approved adding Mazavana Law — a Framingham‑based immigration attorney — to the district’s legal roster to support human resources with teacher visa and permanent‑residency services; administrators said no additional budgeted cost is expected.
The Framingham Public Schools subcommittee voted to add Mazavana Law to the district’s roster of legal providers to assist the human resources office with employment visas and permanent‑residency work for educators.
Human Resources staff member Thiago told the subcommittee the district currently uses Teachers Council, an out‑of‑state vendor based in Maryland, and recommended transitioning to the Framingham‑based firm to provide more local familiarity and responsiveness. “We currently work with Teachers Council…they are based in Maryland, and we would like to phase them out in transition to [Mazavana] immigration, which is based in Framingham and as well versed in our, community,” Thiago said.
Budget impact: administration staff told the panel there is no net increase to the budget from the change because the district already budgets for Teachers Council services and the new counsel would replace that vendor at the current price.
Discussion: committee members asked about overlap with other district counsel. The administration clarified that the district’s labor and employment firm (Morgan, Brown & Joy) does not handle immigration work; the immigration matters are a distinct, specialized service that the new counsel would provide. Dr. Tremblay and other members praised the recommendation as intended to increase local responsiveness to complex immigration cases for teachers.
Vote: the subcommittee approved the addition by roll call vote and recommended the full school committee approve the engagement.
Next steps: the subcommittee recommended the full committee accept the recommended addition; the administration will provide an engagement letter and any required procurement documentation to the district and to the full committee for consideration.
