[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 72 (Thursday, May 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5568-S5570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. Snowe):
  S. 1282. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
for the exclusion from gross income of certain wages of a certified 
master teacher, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, as you know, teachers are the most 
valuable resource when it comes to educating our Nation's children. 
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, (NCLB), States are required to 
recruit highly qualified teachers, yet schools in rural or high poverty 
areas have trouble attracting and retaining these teachers. It is for 
this reason that Senator Snowe and I have joined together to introduce 
The Master Teacher Act of 2007.
  We have an education problem in America. The schools that most need

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experienced educators simply do not have the resources to attract and 
keep the best teachers. We must give our schools the tools they need to 
prepare our students to succeed.
  As currently designated by NCLB, 100 percent of our Nation's schools 
must meet Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP, in reading/language arts and 
mathematics by the 2013/2014 school year. To date, almost 26 percent of 
schools in the U.S. are not making the grade. According to a report 
released by the National Education Association last year, fewer schools 
met AYP in the 2004/2005 school year than the prior school year. In my 
home State of Maryland, 311 out of 1,429 schools, or almost 22 percent, 
did not make Adequate Yearly Progress, as defined by the No Child Left 
Behind Act and the State targets. During the 2005-2006 school year, 79 
schools, or about 6 percent of Maryland's elementary and secondary 
schools had missed Adequate Yearly Progress toward State achievement 
targets for 5 or more consecutive years. As a result they were placed 
in restructuring and were subject to a variety of major school-wide 
reform strategies. A large majority of these restructuring schools are 
urban schools, and more than half are in the Baltimore City Public 
School System.

  According to research, teacher quality is the schooling factor with 
the most profound effect on student achievement. Good teachers can make 
up to a full year's difference in learning growth for students and 
overwhelm the impact of any other educational investment, including 
smaller class sizes.
  Unfortunately, our educational system pairs the children most behind 
with teachers who, on average, have less experience, less education, 
and less skill than those who teach other children. Certainly, there 
are exceptions, excellent and experienced teachers who have devoted 
their lives to at-risk students. But the overall patterns are clear.
  Despite evidence that teachers become more effective after several 
years experience, students in high-poverty and high-minority schools 
are assigned to novice teachers almost twice as often as children in 
low-poverty schools. Classes in high-poverty and high-minority schools 
are much more likely to be taught by teachers without a major or minor 
in the subject they teach. Certainly, there are excellent first-year 
teachers and ineffective veterans. Indeed, mastery of a subject matter 
does not necessarily translate into effective teaching. But these 
proxies for teacher effectiveness are backed by substantial bodies of 
research. Studies of effective teachers reveal they are distributed 
among our Nation's schools in a manner that actually enlarges 
achievement gaps.
  We will only close student achievement gaps when we improve teacher 
quality and experience. We must make obtaining advanced training and 
experience in teaching more accessible and teaching at-risk students 
more desirable. In short, we must establish a class of ``master 
teachers'' with extensive experience and training who are willing to 
teach for an extended period of time in the schools that need them the 
most.
  Fortunately, research also shows even modest monetary incentives 
lower teacher attrition, especially in high-risk school districts. Our 
legislation will reward master teachers with a 25 percent Federal tax 
exemption on their salary for four years if they agree to teach in a 
school that is not meeting AYP. A master teacher is a teacher that has 
at least 5 years of teaching experience in a public elementary or 
secondary school, holds a master's degree, meets the definition of 
highly qualified as defined by the NCLB, and has obtained advanced 
certification in their state licensing system. Each State would have a 
cap of 10 percent of public school teachers eligible to receive master 
teacher tax treatment at a time. This program would go into effect in 
2007 and end with the 2013/2014 school year, when NCLB requires that 
100 percent of students perform at the proficient level.
  Good teachers are essential to a successful education system; they 
are the profession charged with educating our future work force. The 
Master Teacher Act of 2007 will provide our children access to the best 
possible teachers and our teachers much needed financial support.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1282

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

     SECTION 1. MASTER TEACHER EXCLUSION.

       (a) Master Teacher Exclusion.--Part III of subchapter B of 
     chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
     inserting after section 139A the following new section:

     ``SEC. 139B. CERTAIN WAGES OF CERTIFIED MASTER TEACHERS.

       ``(a) 25 Percent Exclusion.--Gross income does not include 
     25 percent of wages earned by a certified master teacher in 
     remuneration for employment at a qualified school in need of 
     improvement or a Head Start program assisted under the Head 
     Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.).
       ``(b) Certified Master Teacher.--For purposes of this 
     section--
       ``(1) In general.--The term `certified master teacher' 
     means any eligible teacher who is certified by a State as 
     being eligible for the exclusion from gross income provided 
     under subsection (a) with respect to wages earned during a 4-
     year certification period. A teacher shall not be treated as 
     a certified master teacher except during the certification 
     period.
       ``(2) Recertification prohibited.--A teacher shall not be 
     certified as a certified master teacher for more than one 
     certification period.
       ``(3) State limitation on number of certified master 
     teachers.--A State may not certify any teacher if such 
     certification would result (at the time of such 
     certification) in more than 10 percent of the State's public 
     school teachers being certified master teachers.
       ``(c) Qualified School in Need of Improvement.--For 
     purposes of this section, the term `qualified school in need 
     of improvement' means, with respect to any certified master 
     teacher--
       ``(1) the school in need of improvement which first employs 
     such teacher during the certification period,
       ``(2) any school in need of improvement which subsequently 
     employs such teacher, but only if each school in need of 
     improvement which previously employed such teacher during the 
     certification period has ceased to be a school in need of 
     improvement, and
       ``(3) any school described in paragraph (1) or (2) which 
     ceases to be a school in need of improvement, but only if 
     such teacher was employed by such school (during such 
     teacher's certification period) at the time that such school 
     ceased to be a school in need of improvement.
       ``(d) School in Need of Improvement.--For purposes of this 
     section, the term `school in need of improvement' means a 
     public elementary or secondary school that--
       ``(1) is identified for school improvement, corrective 
     action, or restructuring under section 1116 of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316), and
       ``(2) is eligible for a schoolwide program under section 
     1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
     (20 U.S.C. 6314).
       ``(e) Eligible Teacher.--For purposes of this section, the 
     term `eligible teacher' means a teacher who--
       ``(1) has had at least 5 years of teaching experience in a 
     public elementary or secondary school,
       ``(2) is highly qualified, as defined in section 9101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801),
       ``(3) has a master's degree, and
       ``(4) has earned--
       ``(A) advanced certification in the teacher's State 
     licensing system, or
       ``(B) in the case of a teacher in a State that does not 
     offer advanced certification, certification from the National 
     Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
       ``(f) Certification Period.--For purposes of this section, 
     the term `certification period' means, with respect to any 
     certified master teacher, the 4-year period described in 
     subsection (b).
       ``(g) State Identification Required on Return.--With 
     respect to any certified master teacher, no exclusion shall 
     be allowed under subsection (a) for any taxable year unless 
     the certified master teacher includes the State in which the 
     teacher has been certified on the certified master teacher's 
     return of tax for such taxable year.
       ``(h) Termination.--This section shall not apply to any 
     taxable year beginning after December 31, 2013.''.
       (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for part III 
     of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
     1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
     section 139A the following new item:

``Sec. 139B. Certain wages of certified master teachers.''.

       (c) Report to Congress.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
     shall transmit to the Congress for each of calendar years 
     2007 through 2013 an annual report stating, with respect to 
     each State, the number of individuals certified by such State 
     as certified master teachers who were allowed an exclusion 
     from gross income under section 139B of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 for a taxable year ending in such calendar year.

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       (d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 
     2006.
                                 ______