II

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2622

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage stronger math

and science programs at elementary and secondary schools.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 24, 2000

Mr. ROBERTS (for himself and Ms. SNOWE) 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 encourage

stronger math and science programs at elementary and

secondary schools.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Science Edu5 cation Incentive Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) As concluded in the report of the Com9 mittee on Science of the House of Representatives,

10 ‘‘Unlocking Our Future Toward a New National
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1 Science Policy,’’ which was adopted by the House of

2 Representatives, the United States must maintain

3 and improve its preeminent position in science and

4 technology in order to advance human under5 standing of the universe and all it contains, and to

6 improve the lives, health, and freedoms of all people.

7 (2) It is estimated that more than half of the

8 economic growth of the United States today results

9 directly from research and development in science

10 and technology. The most fundamental research is

11 responsible for investigating our perceived universe,

12 to extend our observations to the outer limits of

13 what our minds and methods can achieve, and to

14 seek answers to questions that have never been

15 asked before. Applied research continues the process

16 by applying the answers from basic science to the

17 problems faced by individuals, organizations, and

18 governments in the everyday activities that make our

19 lives more livable. The scientific-technological sector

20 of our economy, which has driven our recent eco21 nomic boom and led the United States to the longest

22 period of prosperity in history, is fueled by the work

23 and discoveries of the scientific community.

24 (3) The effectiveness of the United States in

25 maintaining this economic growth will be largely de-
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1 termined by the intellectual capital of the United

2 States. Education is critical to developing this re3 source.

4 (4) The education program of the United States

5 needs to provide for 3 different kinds of intellectual

6 capital. First, it needs scientists and engineers to

7 continue the research and development that is cen8 tral to the economic growth of the United States.

9 Second, it needs technologically proficient workers

10 who are comfortable and capable dealing with the

11 demands of a science-based, high-technology work12 place. Last, it needs scientifically literate voters and

13 consumers to make intelligent decisions about public

14 policy.

15 (5) Student performance on the recent Third

16 International Math and Science Study highlights the

17 shortcomings of current K–12 science and mathe18 matics education in the United States, particularly

19 when compared to other countries. We must expect

20 more from our Nation’s educators and students if

21 we are to build on the accomplishments of previous

22 generations. New methods of teaching mathematics

23 and science are required, as well as better curricula

24 and improved training of teachers.
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1 (6) Science is more than a collection of facts,

2 theories, and results. It is a process of inquiry built

3 upon observations and data that leads to a way of

4 knowing and explaining in logically derived concepts

5 and theories.

6 (7) Students should learn science primarily by

7 doing science. Science education ought to reflect the

8 scientific process and be object-oriented, experiment9 centered, and concept-based.

10 (8) Children are naturally curious and inquisi11 tive. To successfully tap into these innate qualities,

12 education in science must begin at an early age and

13 continue throughout the entire school experience.

14 (9) Teachers provide the essential connection

15 between students and the content they are learning.

16 High-quality prospective teachers need to be identi17 fied and recruited by presenting to them a career

18 that is respected by their peers, is financially and in19 tellectually rewarding, and contains sufficient oppor20 tunities for advancement.

21 (10) Teachers need to have incentives to remain

22 in the classroom and improve their practice, and

23 training of teachers is essential if the results are to

24 be good. Teachers need to be knowledgeable of their

25 content area, of their curriculum, of up-to-date re-
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1 search in teaching and learning, and of techniques

2 that can be used to connect that information to their

3 students in their classroom.

4 SEC. 3. REFUNDABLE CREDIT FOR PORTION OF TUITION

5 PAID FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION OF

6 CERTAIN TEACHERS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

9 1986 (relating to refundable credits) is amended by redes10 ignating section 35 as section 36 and by inserting after

11 section 34 the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 35. TUITION FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION OF

13 CERTAIN TEACHERS.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual who

15 is an eligible teacher for the taxable year, there shall be

16 allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by this subtitle

17 an amount equal to 10 percent of qualified undergraduate

18 tuition paid by such individual.

19 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.—

20 ‘‘(1) DOLLAR AMOUNT.—The credit allowed by

21 this section for any taxable year shall not exceed

22 $1,000.

23 ‘‘(2) CREDIT ALLOWED ONLY FOR 10 YEARS.—

24 No credit shall be allowed under this section for any
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1 taxable year after the 10th taxable year for which

2 credit is allowed under this section.

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE TEACHER.—For purposes of this

4 section—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible teacher’

6 means, with respect to a taxable year, any

7 individual—

8 ‘‘(A) who is a full-time teacher, including

9 a full-time substitute teacher, in any of grades

10 kindergarten through 12th grade for the aca11 demic year ending in such taxable year,

12 ‘‘(B)(i) who teaches primarily math,

13 science, engineering, or technology courses in 1

14 or more of grades 9 through 12 during such

15 academic year, or

16 ‘‘(ii) who teaches math, science, engineer17 ing, or technology courses in 1 or more of

18 grades kindergarten through 8 during such aca19 demic year.

20 ‘‘(C) who completed a 5-year teaching

21 training program which meets the requirements

22 of paragraph (3), and

23 ‘‘(D) who received a baccalaureate or simi24 lar degree with a major in mathematics,
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1 science, engineering, or technology from a quali2 fied educational institution.

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PER4 SONNEL.—School administrative functions shall be

5 treated as teaching courses referred to in paragraph

6 (1)(B) if such functions primarily relate to such

7 courses or are for a school which focuses primarily

8 on such courses.

9 ‘‘(3) 5-YEAR TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM.—

10 For purposes of paragraph (1)(C)—

11 ‘‘(A) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS.—

12 In the case of an elementary school teacher, a

13 teacher training program meets the require14 ments of this paragraph if—

15 ‘‘(i) the program requires, in addition

16 to education courses, that the student com17 plete courses in physics, chemistry, and bi18 ology, and

19 ‘‘(ii) the program recommends com20 pletion of an earth science.

21 ‘‘(B) MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACH22 ERS.—In the case of a middle or high school

23 teacher, a teacher training program meets the

24 requirements of this paragraph if the program

25 requires, in addition to education courses, that
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1 the student also major in a science referred to

2 in subparagraph (A) and that the student also

3 complete introductory courses in 2 other

4 sciences referred to in subparagraph (A).

5 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION.—

6 The term ‘qualified educational institution’ means

7 any eligible educational institution (as defined in

8 section 25A(f)(2)) if—

9 ‘‘(A) more than 80 percent of such institu10 tion’s graduates who apply for certification by

11 any State as a teacher are so certified, and

12 ‘‘(B) such institution’s school of education

13 (or equivalent unit) has an advisory

14 committee—

15 ‘‘(i) which includes (on a rotating

16 basis or otherwise) practicing mathemati17 cians and scientists and representatives

18 from several of the appropriate science,

19 mathematics, engineering, and technology

20 departments of such institution, and

21 ‘‘(ii) which publishes annually a re22 port detailing curricula reforms for such

23 school (or unit) designed to align teacher

24 training curricula with State requirements

25 and expectations.
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1 ‘‘(d) QUALIFIED UNDERGRADUATE TUITION.—For

2 purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified undergraduate

3 tuition’ means qualified higher education expenses (as de4 fined in section 529(e)(3)) for a qualified educational in5 stitution, reduced as provided in section 25A(g)(2) and by

6 any credit allowed by section 25A with respect to such

7 expenses.

8 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall prescribe

9 such regulations as may be appropriate to carry out the

10 purposes of this section.’’.

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

12 (1) Paragraph (2) of section 1324(b) of title

13 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting be14 fore the period ‘‘, or from section 35 of such Code’’.

15 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part

16 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

17 amended by striking the last item and inserting the

18 following new items:

‘‘Sec. 35. Tuition for undergraduate education of certain teachers.

‘‘Sec. 36. Overpayments of tax.’’.

19 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

20 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

21 the date of the enactment of this Act; except that only

22 periods of being an eligible teacher (as defined in section

23 35(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by
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1 this section) after such date shall be taken into account

2 under section 35(b)(2) of such Code, as so added.

3 SEC. 4. CREDITS FOR CERTAIN CONTRIBUTIONS BENE4 FITING SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, ENGINEER5 ING, AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AT THE

6 ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

7 LEVEL.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub9 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of

10 1986 (relating to business related credits) is amended by

11 adding at the end the following new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 45D. CONTRIBUTIONS BENEFITING SCIENCE, MATHE13 MATICS, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNOLOGY

14 EDUCATION AT THE ELEMENTARY AND SEC15 ONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, the

17 elementary and secondary science, mathematics, engineer18 ing, and technology (SMET) contributions credit deter19 mined under this section for the taxable year is an amount

20 equal to 100 percent of the qualified SMET contributions

21 of the taxpayer for such taxable year.

22 ‘‘(b) QUALIFIED SMET CONTRIBUTIONS.—For pur23 poses of this section, the term ‘qualified SMET contribu24 tions’ means—

25 ‘‘(1) SMET school contributions,
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1 ‘‘(2) SMET teacher externship expenses, and

2 ‘‘(3) SMET teacher training expenses.

3 ‘‘(c) SMET SCHOOL CONTRIBUTIONS.—For pur4 poses of this section—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘SMET school

6 contributions’ means—

7 ‘‘(A) SMET property contributions, and

8 ‘‘(B) SMET service contributions.

9 ‘‘(2) SMET PROPERTY CONTRIBUTIONS.—The

10 term ‘SMET property contributions’ means the

11 amount which would (but for subsection (f)) be al12 lowed as a deduction under section 170 for a chari13 table contribution of SMET inventory property if—

14 ‘‘(A) the donee is an elementary or sec15 ondary school described in section

16 170(b)(1)(A)(ii),

17 ‘‘(B) substantially all of the use of the

18 property by the donee is within the United

19 States for educational purposes in any of the

20 grades K–12 that are related to the purpose or

21 function of the donee,

22 ‘‘(C) the original use of the property be23 gins with the donee,

24 ‘‘(D) the property will fit productively into

25 the donee’s education plan,
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1 ‘‘(E) the property is not transferred by the

2 donee in exchange for money, other property, or

3 services, except for shipping, installation and

4 transfer costs, and

5 ‘‘(F) the donee’s use and disposition of the

6 property will be in accordance with the provi7 sions of subparagraphs (B) and (E).

8 The determination of the amount of deduction under

9 section 170 for purposes of this paragraph shall be

10 made as if the limitation under section 170(e)(3)(B)

11 applied to all SMET inventory property.

12 ‘‘(3) SMET SERVICE CONTRIBUTIONS.—The

13 term ‘SMET service contributions’ means the

14 amount paid or incurred during the taxable year for

15 SMET services provided in the United States for the

16 exclusive benefit of students at an elementary or sec17 ondary school described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii)

18 but only if—

19 ‘‘(A) the taxpayer is engaged in the trade

20 or business of providing such services on a com21 mercial basis, and

22 ‘‘(B) no charge is imposed for providing

23 such services.
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1 ‘‘(4) SMET INVENTORY PROPERTY.—The term

2 ‘SMET inventory property’ means, with respect to

3 any contribution to a school, any property—

4 ‘‘(A) which is described in paragraph (1)

5 or (2) of section 1221(a) with respect to the

6 donor, and

7 ‘‘(B) which is determined by the school to

8 be needed by the school in providing education

9 in grades K–12 in the areas of science, mathe10 matics, engineering, or technology.

11 ‘‘(5) SMET SERVICES.—The term ‘SMET serv12 ices’ means, with respect to any contribution to a

13 school, any service determined by the school to be

14 needed by the school in providing education in

15 grades K–12 in the areas of science, mathematics,

16 engineering, or technology, including teaching

17 courses of instruction at such school in any such

18 area.

19 ‘‘(d) SMET TEACHER EXTERNSHIP EXPENSES.—

20 For purposes of this section—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘SMET teacher

22 externship expenses’ means any amount paid or in23 curred to carry out a SMET externship program of

24 the taxpayer but only to the extent that such

25 amount is attributable to the participation in such
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1 program of any eligible SMET teacher, including

2 amounts paid to such a teacher as a stipend while

3 participating in such program.

4 ‘‘(2) SMET EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM.—The term

5 ‘SMET externship program’ means any program—

6 ‘‘(A) established by a taxpayer engaged in

7 a trade or business within an area of science,

8 mathematics, engineering, or technology, and

9 ‘‘(B) under which eligible SMET teachers

10 receive training to enhance their teaching skills

11 in the areas of science, mathematics, engineer12 ing, or technology or otherwise improve their

13 knowledge in such areas.

14 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE SMET TEACHER.—The term ‘eli15 gible SMET teacher’ means any individual—

16 ‘‘(A) who is a teacher in grades K–12 at

17 an educational organization described in section

18 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) which is located in the United

19 States or which is located on a United States

20 military base outside the United States, and

21 ‘‘(B) whose teaching responsibilities at

22 such school include, or are likely to include, any

23 course in the areas of science, mathematics, en24 gineering, or technology.
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1 ‘‘(e) SMET TEACHER TRAINING EXPENSES.—The

2 term ‘SMET teacher training expenses’ means any

3 amount paid or incurred by a taxpayer engaged in a trade

4 or business within an area of science, mathematics, engi5 neering, or technology which is attributable to the partici6 pation of any eligible SMET teacher in a regular training

7 program provided to employees of the taxpayer which is

8 determined by such teacher’s school as enhancing such

9 teacher’s teaching skills in the areas of science, mathe10 matics, engineering, or technology.

11 ‘‘(f) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction

12 shall be allowed under this chapter for any amount allowed

13 as a credit under this section.’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

15 (1) Section 38(b) of such Code is amended—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of para17 graph (11),

18 (B) by striking the period at the end of

19 paragraph (12), and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new

21 paragraph:

22 ‘‘(13) the elementary and secondary science,

23 mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET)

24 contributions credit determined under section 45D.’’.
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1 (2) Subsection (d) of section 39 of such Code

2 (relating to carryback and carryforward of unused

3 credits) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(9) NO CARRYBACK OF SECTION 45D CREDIT

6 BEFORE ENACTMENT OF CREDIT.—No portion of the

7 unused business credit for any taxable year which is

8 attributable to the credit determined under section

9 45D may be carried back to a taxable year begin10 ning before the date of the enactment of this para11 graph.’’.

12 (3) The table of sections for subpart D of part

13 IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of such Code is

14 amended by adding at the end the following new

15 item:

‘‘Sec. 45D. Contributions benefiting science, mathematics, engineering, and technology education at the elementary and secondary school level.’’.

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

17 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after

18 the date of the enactment of this Act.

19 SEC. 5. ASSURANCE OF CONTINUED LOCAL CONTROL.

20 Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize

21 any department, agency, officer, or employee of the United

22 States to exercise any direction, supervision, or control

23 over the curriculum, program of instruction, administra-
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1 tion, or personnel of any educational institution or school

2 system.

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