S. 2880 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2880 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 18, 2014Mr. Rockefeller introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax incentive to individuals teaching in elementary and secondary schools located in rural or high unemployment areas and to individuals who achieve certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Incentives to Educate American Children Act of 2014 or the I Teach Act of 2014. 2. Findings and purposes (a) Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) The United States classrooms are increasingly filled with less experienced teachers, as elderly teachers retire and the retention rate among young teachers continues to decrease. The most common number of years of teaching experience for public school teachers has decreased from 15 years experience in 1987–1988 to 5 years in 2011–2012. According to the most recent data, 1,700,000 teachers, representing 45 percent of the workforce, had less than 10 years of experience. Students deserve teachers with more experience and training. (2) Recent research confirms that additional years of teaching experience at the same grade level (up to 20 years) add a direct positive impact on student achievement. (3) The most recent data (2011–2012) from the National Center for Education Statistics find 32.8 percent of public schools in the United States are in rural areas. The associated costs rural schools face mean that they often have less money for instructional costs and salaries. Department of Education data show that rural school districts have the lowest base salaries for starting teachers, a trend that continues even as teachers move to the top of the local salary range. Rural schools face these challenges across the country. (4) The most recent study by the Education Trust found that high schools with high poverty rates are twice as likely to have teachers that are not certified in their fields than high schools with low poverty rates. The same study found that high poverty schools have a higher percentage of first year teachers. Rural schools face similar problems. (5) According to the most recent statistics by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Education, teachers are paid on average only 79 percent as much as other college graduates. (6) The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was founded in 1987 as a follow up to the landmark 1983 report, A Nation at Risk, by the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization, whose mission is to establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. (7) Over 100,000 teachers from all 50 States and the District of Columbia have completed certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, where certification is a rigorous assessment process for teachers. (8) The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies has affirmed that students taught by National Board certified teachers make higher gains on achievement tests than those taught by teachers who have not applied for or have not achieved certification. (9) According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, 15.7 percent of teachers leave their jobs each year, compared to an annual turnover rate of 11.9 percent in other professions. The average cost of recruiting, hiring, preparing, and losing a teacher is approximately $50,000. (10) The NRC found in 2008 that the average retention rate for National Board certified teachers is higher than the rate for teachers who have not achieved certification. Specifically, in a study focusing on the first 4 to 7 years of teaching, the NRC found that nearly 3/4 of National Board certified teachers remained in the profession at the end of the study, compared to only 2/3 of non-certified teachers that stayed teaching during the same time period. (b) Purposes The purposes of this Act are as follows: (1) To encourage teachers, through a refundable tax credit, to work in public elementary and secondary schools located in rural areas or schools with high poverty. (2) To provide an additional tax credit to teachers who achieve certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in order to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers in public elementary and secondary schools. 3. Refundable tax credit for individuals teaching in elementary and secondary schools located in high poverty or rural areas and certified teachers (a) In general Subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B the following new section: 36C. Tax credit for individuals teaching in elementary and secondary schools located in high poverty or rural areas and certified teachers (a) Allowance of credit In the case of an eligible teacher, there shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle for the taxable year an amount equal to the applicable amount for the eligible academic year ending during such taxable year. (b) Applicable amount For purposes of this section— (1) Teachers in schools in rural areas or schools with high poverty (A) In general In the case of an eligible teacher who performs services in a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school described in subparagraph (B) during the eligible academic year, the applicable amount is $1,000. (B) School described A public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school is described in this subparagraph if— (i) at least 75 percent of the students attending such kindergarten or school receive free or reduced-cost lunches under the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, or (ii) such kindergarten or school has a School Locale Code of 41, 42, or 43, as determined by the Secretary of Education. (2) Certified teachers In the case of an eligible teacher who is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards for the eligible academic year, the applicable amount is $1,000. (3) Certified teachers in schools in rural areas or schools with high poverty In the case of an eligible teacher described in both paragraphs (1) and (2), the applicable amount is $2,000. (c) Eligible teacher For purposes of this section, the term eligible teacher means, for any eligible academic year, an individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 classroom teacher or instructor in a public kindergarten or a public elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis for such eligible academic year. (d) Additional definitions For purposes of this section— (1) Elementary and secondary schools The terms elementary school and secondary school have the respective meanings given such terms by section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. (2) Eligible academic year The term eligible academic year means any academic year ending in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2014. . (b) Conforming amendments (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting , 36C after 36B. (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 36B the following new item: Sec. 36C. Tax credit for individuals teaching in elementary and secondary schools located in high poverty or rural areas and certified teachers. . (c) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to academic years ending in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2014.