[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5112 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5112

 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 
     income tax to elementary and secondary public school teachers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 2000

   Mr. Baca introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a credit against 
     income tax to elementary and secondary public school teachers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Teacher Recruitment and Retention 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that:
            (1) Adequate compensation is essential to recruit and 
        retain teachers and maintain teacher quality.
            (2) Teachers are among the lowest paid professionals. In 
        1997, an average teacher's salary was $26,139, which was the 
        second to the lowest in comparison to other professions. By 
        contrast, graduates with engineering degrees were paid an 
        average of $43,178 per year.
            (3) Since 1989, the salaries of teachers between the ages 
        of 35 and 44 have declined by about $400 per year, on average, 
        when adjusted for inflation.
            (4) Starting salaries for college graduates who have 
        majored in education are lower than the starting salaries for 
        other graduates.
            (5) Both demographic shifts in the age of teachers and the 
        onset of retirement have caused attrition within the field of 
        teaching, increasing the need for teacher recruitment and 
        retention. In 1994-95, 27.4 percent of public elementary and 
        secondary school teachers retired from the profession.
            (6) In 1992, 19 percent of public elementary and secondary 
        school teachers left the profession for better pay or other 
        career opportunities. Of this percentage, 29 percent stated 
        that they needed to earn more money.
            (7) In 1992, 24 percent of all new teachers in inner city/
        urban areas said that they were likely to leave teaching. 21 
        percent of the new teachers in schools with many low-income 
        students said that they were also likely to leave teaching.
            (8) Public elementary and secondary school teachers are 
        facing more demanding working conditions (for example, larger 
        number of instructional hours, expansion of roles, and longer 
        after-work hours).
            (9) Public elementary and secondary school teachers are 
        routinely spending their own money for school supplies (for 
        example pencils, paper, glue, and art supplies).

SEC. 3. INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOL 
              TEACHERS.

    (a) In General.--Subpart A of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to nonrefundable 
personal credits) is amended by inserting after section 25A the 
following new section:

``SEC. 25B. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY PUBLIC SCHOOL 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 
chapter for the taxable year the amount of $1,500.
    ``(b) Eligible Teacher.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`eligible teacher' means any individual who, throughout the academic 
year ending during the taxable year, is a full-time teacher for any of 
grades K-12 at a public school located in the United States.''
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such subpart A 
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 25A the 
following new item:

                              ``Sec. 25B. Elementary and secondary 
                                        public school teachers.''
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
                                 <all>