[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2880 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2880

 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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 18, 2014

Mr. 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.

    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 ``Incentives to Educate American 
Children Act of 2014'' or the ``I Teach Act of 2014''.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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:

``SEC. 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.
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