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Bicameral Legislators Reintroduce Bill to Increase Tax Credits for Educators

Man at chalkboard illustrating an upward trajectory graph with dollar signs underneath

Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have reintroduced the bicameral Respect, Advancement, and Increasing Support for Educators (RAISE) Act.

The bill would provide educators with a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $15,000 in refundable tax credits. These credits would boost the compensation of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teachers with the maximum credit going to educators who work in high poverty schools.

The legislation would provide all eligible early childhood and K-12 educators with a $1,000 refundable tax credit, regardless of the level of poverty in the school in which they teach, with a cap of $15,000 for eligible student public school educators and early childhood educators with a bachelor’s degree, and a cap of $10,000 for early childhood educators with an associate degree or a Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate. It would also increase the educator tax deduction from $250 to $500 to offset teachers’ purchases of school supplies and expand eligibility to early childhood educators. Finally, it would boost federal funding by $3 billion for programs dedicated to educator recruitment, retention, professional development, and reduced class sizes through Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and create a fund to incentivize local educational agencies to increase educator pay.

The bill, which is cosponsored by 24 Members of the House and Senate, is endorsed by more than 50 national organizations including CEC, which supports initiatives that would improve educator compensation.

Read the full text here.

Posted:  19 May, 2023
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