[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1083-S1085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CLELAND (for himself and Ms. Landrieu):
  S. 262. A bill to provide for teaching excellence in America's 
classrooms and homerooms; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, this nation was rocked by the 
publication, in 1983, of the landmark report, A Nation at Risk. The 
findings were devastating: Our educational system was being ``eroded by 
a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our future as a nation and a 
people.'' That report went on to say that if ``an unfriendly foreign 
power'' had tried to impose on America our ``mediocre educational 
performance,'' we might well have viewed it ``as an act of war.''
  A Nation at Risk sounded a wake-up call to our educators, parents, 
businesses, community leaders and officials at all levels of 
government. Since its publication in 1983, a number of states have 
strengthened their commitment to educational improvements. Many 
tightened high school graduation requirements. They pushed for more 
achievement testing for students and higher standards for teachers.
  As a result of these efforts, we have seen improvement. Our dropout 
rate is down, and student achievement is up. Performance on the 
National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP, has increased, 
particularly in the key subjects of reading, math, and science. Yet 
still, in America, 2,800 high school students drop out every single 
day. Each school year, more than 45,000 under-prepared teachers, 
teachers who have not even been trained in the subjects they are 
teaching, enter the classroom. Clearly, this is not acceptable.
  The positive news is that eighteen years after A Nation at Risk, 
there is widespread agreement that the improvement of our educational 
system must be a priority and hope that there will be consensus on 
education reform. Key to the success of any effective education reform 
initiative is the issue of teacher quality. What teachers know and can 
do are the single most important influences on what students learn, 
according to the National Commission for Teaching and America's Future 
Teachers.
  Three years after A Nation at Risk, the Carnegie Task Force on 
Teaching as a Profession issued a seminal report, A Nation Prepared: 
Teachers for the 21st Century. Its leading recommendation called for 
the establishment of a National Board for Professional Teaching 
Standards. Founded in 1987, the National Board for Professional 
Teaching Standards is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan 
organization whose mission is to establish high and rigorous standards 
for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.
  To date, over 9,500 teachers from all 50 states and the District of 
Columbia have completed advanced certification by the National Board 
for Professional Teaching Standards--the most rigorous assessment 
process that a teacher can go through and the highest professional 
credential in the field of teaching. And more than 12,000 teachers have 
applied for National Board Certification in the 2000-2001 school year. 
Recognizing the value of qualified teachers in the classroom, 39 states 
and 181 local school districts have enacted financial incentives for 
teachers seeking National Board Certification, including fee support to 
candidates and salary increases for teachers who successfully complete 
the certification process.

  Georgia, for example, provides a 10 percent salary increase to 
teachers who achieve National Board Certification as well as full 
reimbursement of the $2300 fee upon certification. The State of 
Louisiana provides an annual salary adjustment of $5,000 for its 
National Board Certified Teachers, NBCTs, and in addition, the State 
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has allocated a $300,000 
supplement over a three-year period to provide fee support for National 
Board Certification. North Carolina, which has over 2,400 National 
Board Certified Teachers, has a particularly strong support program. 
Among its incentives, the State pays the fee for up to 1,500 teachers 
who complete the National Board Certification process; offers up to 
three days of release time for candidates to work on their portfolios 
and prepare for the assessment center exercises; and provides a 12 
percent salary increase for those who achieve National Board 
Certification. Florida, with 1,267 National Board Certified Teachers, 
has passed legislation appropriating $12 million to pay 90 percent of 
its candidates' certification fee. In addition, the State provides a 10 
percent salary increase for the life of the certificate and an 
additional 10 percent bonus to those who mentor newly hired teachers or 
serve as support mentors for advanced certification candidates. Florida 
also provides $150 to candidates to offset National Board Certification 
expenses.
  The incentives offered by Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida 
and the remaining 35 states clearly demonstrate that state leaders 
recognize and understand the value and contribution of National Board 
Certification to their own efforts to enhance quality teaching and 
improve school performance. In an effort to assist states' efforts and 
to encourage participation, the 1994 Improving America's Schools Act 
authorized federal assistance to the National Board for Professional 
Teaching Standards. To date, the Board has provided over $18 million to 
the states according to a formula based on teacher population. In FY 
2000, $2.5 million was appropriated to help states and local schools 
districts subsidize the certification fee for National Board Certified 
candidates.
  In each and every year since funding was authorized, candidate demand 
has outpaced the money available. Therefore in an effort to encourage 
and promote teacher quality in the classroom, I am joined today by my 
colleague, Senator Landrieu, in introducing the Teaching Excellence in 
America's Classrooms and Homerooms (TEACH) Act. According to a new 
study by the National Education Association, teacher salaries have 
remained stagnant over the past decade, and two-thirds of the states do 
not meet the national average of $40,582 for teacher salaries. 
Therefore to help teachers pay the $2300 certification fee, our bill 
would double the candidate subsidy funding, from the current $2.5 
million to $5 million. Further, our legislation would provide an 
additional $1 million for outreach and educational activities to 
heighten teachers' awareness of the National Board Certification 
process, with a priority given to teachers in school districts serving 
special populations, including limited English proficient children, 
children with disabilities, and economically and educationally 
disadvantaged children.
  Teachers who successfully complete the arduous requirements for 
National Board Certification should not be penalized. Therefore, our 
legislation would provide that any financial benefit, such as a bonus, 
which a teacher receives solely as a result of achieving National 
Board Certification would be tax-free. And teachers who pay out of 
pocket expenses for advanced certification, such as fees, travel, and 
supplies, should be reimbursed for these costs. The Teaching Excellence 
in

[[Page S1084]]

America's Classrooms and Homerooms would allow candidates to take an 
above-the-line deduction for their certification expenses. This will 
allow these teachers who do not itemize their deductions to still be 
able to benefit from tax-favored treatment for their National Board 
Certification.

  A study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at 
Greensboro has recently concluded that teachers who are certified by 
the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards significantly 
outperform their peers who are not National Board Certified on 11 of 13 
key measures of teaching expertise, including an extensive knowledge of 
subject matter, the capacity to create optimal environments for 
learning, and the ability to inspire students and to promote in them 
problem-solving skills. The Accomplished Teaching Validation Study, 
released in October, was originally designed as a means to seek 
independent validation for the National Board's assessment process, and 
it is based on criteria which two decades of research have deemed to be 
the measures of effective teaching. Among its conclusions, the study 
found that nearly three-quarters of the National Board Certified 
Teachers produced students whose work reflected deep understanding of 
the subject being studied compared with less than one-quarter of non-
certified teachers. The Greensboro study is believed by some education 
leaders to be the first step in compiling research that will shed 
important light on the connection between accomplished teaching and 
student learning.
  Christa McAuliffe, selected to be the first schoolteacher to travel 
in space, described simply but poetically the awesome potential of her 
vocation: ``I touch the future,'' she said. ``I teach.'' If we are to 
improve student achievement and success in school, the United States 
must encourage and support the training and development of our nation's 
teachers, the single most important in-school influence on student 
learning. Investing in teacher quality is a direct investment in 
quality education--and as Benjamin Franklin said, ``on education all 
our lives depend.''
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill and the letter of 
support from the National Education Association be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 262

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

            TITLE I--NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION ASSISTANCE

     SEC. 101. NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION ASSISTANCE.

       Part A of title II of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6621 et seq.) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

     ``SEC. 2104. NATIONAL BOARD CERTIFICATION ASSISTANCE.

       ``(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the 
     `Teaching Excellence in America's Classrooms and Homerooms 
     Act' (TEACH).
       ``(b) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       ``(1) Accomplished teachers are an essential resource for 
     schools and key to the success of any effective education 
     reform initiative. What teachers know and can do are the most 
     important influences on what students learn, according to 
     national studies.
       ``(2) Three years after the landmark 1983 report, `A Nation 
     at Risk', the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession 
     issued a seminal report entitled `A Nation Prepared: Teachers 
     for the 21st Century'. Its leading recommendation called for 
     the establishment of a National Board for Professional 
     Teaching Standards. Founded in 1987, 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.
       ``(3) Over 9,500 teachers from all 50 States and the 
     District of Columbia have completed advanced certification by 
     the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which 
     certification is the most rigorous assessment process that a 
     teacher can go through and the highest professional 
     credential in the field of teaching. And more than 12,000 
     teachers have applied for National Board Certification in the 
     2000-2001 school year.
       ``(4) Teacher salaries have remained stagnant over the past 
     decade, according to a new study by the National Education 
     Association, and \2/3\ of the States do not meet the national 
     average of $40,582 for teacher salaries.
       ``(5) The full fee for National Board Certification is 
     $2,300. Thirty-nine States and 181 local school districts 
     have enacted financial incentives for teachers seeking 
     National Board Certification, including fee support to 
     candidates and salary increases for teachers who achieve 
     National Board Certification.
       ``(6) Recent data from the Accomplished Teaching Validation 
     Study have demonstrated that teachers who are certified by 
     the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards 
     significantly outperform their peers who are not National 
     Board Certified on 11 of 13 key measures of teaching 
     expertise.
       ``(7) If we are to improve student achievement and success 
     in school, the United States must encourage and support the 
     training and development of our Nation's teachers, who are 
     the single, most important in-school influence on student 
     learning.
       ``(c) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to provide a 
     Federal subsidy and support to certain elementary school and 
     secondary school teachers who pursue advanced certification 
     provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
     Standards.
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Board.--The term `Board' means the National Board for 
     Professional Teaching Standards.
       ``(2) Eligible teacher.--The term `eligible teacher' means 
     an individual who is a prekindergarten or early childhood 
     educator, or a kindergarten through grade 12 classroom 
     teacher, instructor, counselor, or principal in an elementary 
     school or secondary school on a full-time basis.
       ``(e) Program Authorization.--
       ``(1) Program authorized.--From sums appropriated pursuant 
     to the authority of subsection (g) for any fiscal year, the 
     Secretary, in accordance with this section, shall provide 
     financial assistance to the National Board for Professional 
     Teaching Standards, in order to pay the Federal share of the 
     costs of the authorized activities described in subsection 
     (f).
       ``(f) Authorized Activities.--
       ``(1) In general.--Federal funds received under this 
     section may be used only for the following activities:
       ``(A) To help States and local school districts provide fee 
     support to teachers seeking National Board Certification.
       ``(B) For outreach and educational activities directly 
     related to teachers' awareness and pursuit of National Board 
     Certification.
       ``(2) Priorities.--The Board shall give priority to 
     providing outreach and educational activities under paragraph 
     (1)(B) among the following:
       ``(A) School districts in which there are a significant 
     number of low-performing schools.
       ``(B) School districts with low teacher participation rates 
     in the National Board Certification process.
       ``(C) School districts serving special populations, 
     including--
       ``(i) limited English proficient children;
       ``(ii) gifted and talented children;
       ``(iii) children with disabilities; and
       ``(iv) economically and educationally disadvantaged 
     children.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations; Allocation.--
       ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
     carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
     appropriated $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2002 and such sums as 
     may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.
       ``(2) Allocation.--Of the amounts appropriated under 
     paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall make 
     available--
       ``(A) 85 percent of such amounts to carry out subsection 
     (f)(1)(A); and
       ``(B) 15 percent of such amounts to carry out subsection 
     (f)(1)(B).''.

          TITLE II--TAX INCENTIVES FOR TEACHER CERTIFICATIONS

     SEC. 201. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY CERTIFIED 
                   TEACHERS.

       (a) In General.--Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of 
     the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items 
     specifically excluded from gross income) is amended by 
     redesignating section 139 as section 140 and inserting after 
     section 138 the following new section:

     ``SEC. 139. CERTAIN AMOUNTS RECEIVED BY CERTIFIED TEACHERS.

       ``(a) In General.--In the case of an eligible teacher, 
     gross income shall not include the value of any eligible 
     financial benefit received during the taxable year.
       ``(b) Eligible teacher.--For purposes of this section--
       ``(1) In general.--The term `eligible teacher' means an 
     individual who is a pre-kindergarten or early childhood 
     educator, or a kindergarten through grade 12 classroom 
     teacher, instructor, counselor, aide, or principal in an 
     elementary or secondary school on a full-time basis for an 
     academic year ending during a taxable year.
       ``(2) Elementary and secondary schools.--The terms 
     `elementary school' and `secondary school' have the 
     respective meanings given such terms by section 14101 of the 
     Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
       ``(c) Eligible Financial Benefit.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term `eligible financial benefit' means any 
     financial benefit, including incentive payment, received 
     solely by reason of the successful completion by the eligible 
     teacher of the requirements for advanced certification 
     provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
     Standards. Such completion shall be verified in such manner 
     as the Secretary shall prescribe by regulation.
       ``(d) Amounts Must be Reasonable.--Amounts excluded under 
     subsection (a) shall

[[Page S1085]]

     include only amounts which are reasonable.''.
       (b) Conforming Amendments.--
       (1) Section 3401(a)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 is amended by striking ``117 or 132'' and inserting 
     ``117, 132, or 139''.
       (2) The table of sections for part III of subchapter B of 
     chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the item 
     relating to section 139 and inserting the following new 
     items:

``Sec. 139. Certain amounts received by certified teachers.
``Sec. 140. Cross references to other Acts.''.

       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2001.

     SEC. 202. 2-PERCENT FLOOR ON MISCELLANEOUS ITEMIZED 
                   DEDUCTIONS NOT TO APPLY TO QUALIFIED ADVANCED 
                   CERTIFICATION EXPENSES OF ELEMENTARY AND 
                   SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS.

       (a) In General.--Section 67(b) of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (defining miscellaneous itemized deductions) is 
     amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (11), by 
     striking the period at the end of paragraph (12) and 
     inserting ``, and'', and by adding at the end the following 
     new paragraph:
       ``(13) any deduction allowable for the qualified advanced 
     certification expenses paid or incurred by an eligible 
     teacher (as defined in section 139(b)).''.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 67 of the Internal Revenue Code 
     of 1986 (relating to 2-percent floor on miscellaneous 
     itemized deductions) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new subsection:
       ``(g) Qualified Advanced Certification Expenses of Eligible 
     Teachers.--For purposes of subsection (b)(13), the term 
     `qualified advanced certification expenses' means expenses--
       ``(1) for fees, supplies, equipment, transportation, and 
     lodging required to secure the advanced certification 
     provided by the National Board for Professional Teaching 
     Standards, and
       ``(2) with respect to which a deduction is allowable under 
     section 162 (determined without regard to this section).''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2001.
                                  ____



                               National Education Association,

                                 Washington, DC, February 5, 2001.
     Senator Max Cleland,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Cleland: On behalf of the National Education 
     Association's (NEA) 2.6 million members, we would like to 
     express our support for the Teaching Excellence in America's 
     Classrooms and Homerooms (TEACH) Act. We believe this 
     legislation will make a critical difference in allowing 
     teachers to pursue National Board Certification and, thereby, 
     ensuring the highest quality teachers in our nation's 
     classrooms.
       As you know, no single factor will have a greater impact on 
     improving student achievement than the quality of our 
     nation's teaching force. National Board Certification offers 
     the highest credential in the teaching profession, taking 
     teachers through a rigorous assessment and evaluation 
     process. An October 2000 study found that Board Certified 
     teachers significantly outperformed their peers on 11 of 13 
     measures of teaching expertise. In addition, the study found 
     that 74 percent of work samples from students of Certified 
     teachers reflected ``high levels of comprehension,'' compared 
     with 29 percent of students whose teachers did not have 
     national certification.
       Unfortunately, the high cost prohibits many teachers from 
     seeking Board Certification. By providing funding to states 
     and local districts to help teachers pay Board Certification 
     fees, your legislation will enable more teachers to 
     participate in this important process. In addition, the 
     resourses provided for outreach will help bring information 
     about Board Certification to many more teachers.
       We thank you for your leadership in introducing the TEACH 
     Act and look forward to working with you in support of our 
     nation's teachers.
           Sincerley,
                                           Mary Elizabeth Teasley,
                                 Director of Government Relations.
                                 ______