[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 26 (Thursday, February 17, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ROCKEFELLER:
  S. 378. 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; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Incentives 
to Educate American Children Act of 2011--I TEACH. This bill provides 
important tax incentives to promote the quality of all public school 
teachers by encouraging them to achieve certification from the National 
Board for Professional Teaching Standards. It provides further 
incentives to teachers in rural and high-poverty schools.
  We all know that teachers are the front line for the education of our 
nation's children. Still, teachers continue to earn less than other 
college graduates. A recent study found that teachers only earn 77 
percent as much as other college graduates. It is even worse for 
teachers in rural schools. Rural schools struggle with many unique 
challenges, and one of them is how to pay competitive salaries when 
transportation costs are necessarily higher than for urban schools. The 
Department of Education has reported that rural school districts have 
the lowest base salaries for starting teachers. This bill helps combat 
this inequity by providing a tax incentive to public school teachers in 
rural and high-poverty schools.
  All schools today are struggling with the recruitment and retention 
of qualified teachers. Due to retirements and decreasing retention of 
beginning teachers, the experience level of our teachers is decreasing. 
In the 1987-1988 academic year, the most common number of years of 
experience for our teachers was 15 years. The most recent data from the 
2007-2008 shows the most common years of experience is now just 1 year. 
The distribution of teaching experience in the data shows the strong 
need for incentives to encourage teachers to stay in the profession. We 
know that more experienced teachers help our students learn.
  States are responsible for certifying teachers in their own states, 
but teachers have had the additional opportunity since 1987 to earn a 
certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching 
Standards. This independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization 
provides teachers with a national board certification similar to those 
in other professions. Since 1987, more than 91,000 teachers have 
completed the rigorous process of National Board Certification. The 
National Research Council of the National Academies recently affirmed 
that students taught by National Board certified teachers make higher 
gains on achievement tests than students taught by teachers who have 
not applied or have not achieved this certification. This bill provides 
an incentive to public school teachers to achieve this certification 
and stay in the classroom.
  The I TEACH Act of 2011 provides important incentives for teachers to 
serve in rural and high-poverty schools as well as for all public 
school teachers to demonstrate the accomplishment of National Board 
Certification. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
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