II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4125 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a refundable tax 

credit for certain teachers as a supplement to State efforts to provide 

teachers with a livable wage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2022 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, 

Mr. HEINRICH, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) 

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 provide 

a refundable tax credit for certain teachers as a supplement to State efforts to provide teachers with a livable 

wage, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Respect, Advancement, 

5 and Increasing Support for Educators Act of 2022’’ or 

6 the ‘‘RAISE Act of 2022’’. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 4125 IS

1 SEC. 2. REFUNDABLE TEACHER TAX CREDIT. 

2 (a) ALLOWANCE OF TAX CREDIT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subpart C of part IV of sub4 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 36B 

6 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 36C. TEACHER TAX CREDIT. 

8 ‘‘(a) CREDIT ALLOWED.—In the case of an individual 

9 who is an eligible educator during school years ending with 

10 or within the taxable year, there shall be allowed as a cred11 it against the tax imposed by this chapter an amount 

12 equal to the sum of— 

13 ‘‘(1) $1,000, plus 

14 ‘‘(2) in the case of an eligible educator who is 

15 employed at a qualifying school, the applicable 

16 amount. 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE AMOUNT.—For purposes of sub18 section (a), the applicable amount is the amount which 

19 bears the same ratio (not to exceed one) to $14,000 

20 ($9,000, in the case of any early childhood educator with21 out a bachelor’s degree) as— 

22 ‘‘(1) the number of percentage points by which 

23 the student poverty ratio for such qualifying school 

24 exceeds 39 percent, bears to 

25 ‘‘(2) 36 percentage points. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 4125 IS

1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE EDUCATOR.—For purposes of this 

2 section— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible educator’ 

4 means— 

5 ‘‘(A) any elementary or secondary teacher, 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) any early childhood educator. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY TEACHER.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘elementary 

10 or secondary teacher’ means an individual 

11 who— 

12 ‘‘(i) is a teacher of record who pro13 vides direct classroom teaching (or class14 room-type teaching in a nonclassroom set15 ting) in a public elementary school or a 

16 public secondary school for not less than 

17 75 percent of the normal or statutory 

18 number of hours of work for a full-time 

19 teacher over a complete school year (as de20 termined by the State in which the school 

21 is located), 

22 ‘‘(ii) meets the applicable require23 ments for State certification and licensure 

24 in the State in which such school is located 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 4125 IS

1 in the subject area in which the individual 

2 is the teacher of record, and 

3 ‘‘(iii) has met the requirements of 

4 clauses (i) and (ii) for a period of not less 

5 than 1 year before the first day of the tax6 able year. 

7 ‘‘(B) TEACHER OF RECORD.—For pur8 poses of subparagraph (A), the term ‘teacher of 

9 record’ means a teacher who has been assigned 

10 the responsibility for specified pupils’ learning 

11 in a grade, subject, or course as reflected on the 

12 school’s official record of attendance. 

13 ‘‘(3) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR.—The 

14 term ‘early childhood educator’ means an individual 

15 who— 

16 ‘‘(A) has a Child Development Associate 

17 credential (or an equivalent credential), or has 

18 an associate’s degree or higher, 

19 ‘‘(B) meets the applicable requirements for 

20 State certification, licensure, or permitting 

21 under State law for early childhood education, 

22 ‘‘(C) has primary responsibility for the 

23 learning and development of children in an 

24 early childhood education program (as defined 

25 in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 4125 IS

1 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) for not less than 75 

2 percent of the normal or statutory number of 

3 hours of work for a full-time teacher over a 

4 complete program year, as determined by the 

5 Secretary of Health and Human Services, and 

6 ‘‘(D) has met the requirements of subpara7 graphs (A), (B), and (C) for a period of not 

8 less than 1 year before the first day of the tax9 able year. 

10 ‘‘(d) QUALIFYING SCHOOL.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualifying 

12 school’ means, with respect to any school year— 

13 ‘‘(A) a public elementary school or a public 

14 secondary school that— 

15 ‘‘(i) is in the school district of a local 

16 educational agency that is eligible in such 

17 year for assistance pursuant to part A of 

18 title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

19 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

20 seq.), or 

21 ‘‘(ii) is served by an educational serv22 ice agency, or a location operated by an 

23 educational service agency, that is eligible, 

24 for the year in which the determination is 

25 made, for assistance under part A of title 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 4125 IS

1 I of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et 

3 seq.), 

4 ‘‘(B) an elementary school or secondary 

5 school that is funded by the Bureau of Indian 

6 Education, or 

7 ‘‘(C) an early childhood education program 

8 (as defined in section 103 of the Higher Edu9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) that 

10 serves children who receive, or are eligible for, 

11 services for which financial assistance is pro12 vided in accordance with the Child Care and 

13 Development Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

14 9858 et seq.) or the child and adult care food 

15 program established under section 17 of the 

16 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1766). 

18 ‘‘(2) ESEA DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

19 this subsection, the terms ‘educational service agen20 cy’, ‘elementary school’, ‘local educational agency’, 

21 ‘secondary school’, and ‘State educational agency’ 

22 have the meanings given such terms in section 8101 

23 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

24 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.). 

25 ‘‘(e) STUDENT POVERTY RATIO.— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 4125 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘student poverty 

2 ratio’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) with respect to any qualifying school 

4 described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub5 section (d)(1), the ratio (expressed as a per6 centage) of— 

7 ‘‘(i) the total number of children 

8 served at such qualifying school meeting at 

9 least one measure of poverty described in 

10 section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 

11 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

12 U.S.C. 6313(a)(5)), to 

13 ‘‘(ii) the total number of children 

14 served at such qualifying school, and 

15 ‘‘(B) with respect to any qualifying school 

16 described in subsection (d)(1)(C), the ratio (ex17 pressed as a percentage) of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the total number of children at19 tending such qualifying school who are eli20 gible for the Child Care and Development 

21 Block Grant of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858 et 

22 seq.) or the child and adult care food pro23 gram established under section 17 of the 

24 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), to 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 4125 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the total number of children at2 tending such qualifying school. 

3 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF RATIO.—In deter4 mining the student poverty ratio with respect to a 

5 qualifying school under paragraph (1)(A), the Sec6 retary shall use the same measure of poverty as is 

7 used for purposes of determining the allocation of 

8 funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and 

9 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 

10 et seq.) with respect to the qualifying school. 

11 ‘‘(f) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any taxable 

13 year beginning after 2022, each of the dollar 

14 amounts in subsections (a) and (b) shall be in15 creased by an amount equal to— 

16 ‘‘(A) such dollar amount, multiplied by 

17 ‘‘(B) the cost-of-living adjustment deter18 mined under section 1(f)(3) for the calendar 

19 year in which the taxable year begins, deter20 mined by substituting in subparagraph (A)(ii) 

21 thereof ‘calendar year 2021’ for ‘calendar year 

22 2016’. 

23 ‘‘(2) ROUNDING.—If any increase determined 

24 under paragraph (1) is not a multiple of $50, such 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 4125 IS

1 increase shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of 

2 $50.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 (A) The table of sections for subpart C of 

5 part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 of the In6 ternal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by in7 serting after the item relating to section 36B 

8 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 36C. Teacher tax credit.’’. 

9 (B) Section 6211(b)(4)(A) of such Code is 

10 amended by inserting ‘‘36C,’’ after ‘‘36B,’’. 

11 (C) Section 1324(b)(2) of title 31, United 

12 States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘36C,’’ 

13 after ‘‘36B,’’. 

14 (b) INFORMATION SHARING.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Education 

16 shall— 

17 (A) collect such information as necessary 

18 for purposes of determining whether a school is 

19 a qualifying school (as defined in section 36C of 

20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added 

21 by subsection (a)) and the appropriate amount 

22 of tax credit under such section; and 

23 (B) provide such information to the Sec24 retary of the Treasury (or the Secretary’s dele25 gate). 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 4125 IS

1 (2) INFORMATION FOR THE SECRETARY OF

2 EDUCATION.—As a condition of receiving Federal 

3 funds and if requested by the Secretary of Edu4 cation, each qualifying school shall collect and sub5 mit to the Secretary of Education such information 

6 as may be necessary to enable the Secretary of Edu7 cation to carry out paragraph (1). 

8 (c) SUPPLEMENTATION OF FUNDS.— 

9 (1) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDU10 CATION.—A State educational agency or local edu11 cational agency (as such terms are defined in section 

12 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

13 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 et seq.)) shall not re14 duce or adjust any teacher pay or teacher loan for15 giveness program due to the eligibility of teachers 

16 within the jurisdiction of such agency for the tax 

17 credit under section 36C of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986. Each State educational agency and 

19 local educational agency (as so defined), upon re20 quest by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall dem21 onstrate that the methodology used to allocate teach22 er pay and teacher loan forgiveness (if applicable) to 

23 qualifying schools (as defined in section 36C(d) of 

24 such Code) ensures that each such school receives 

25 the same State and local funds for teacher comVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:50 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4125.IS S4125

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 4125 IS

1 pensation it would receive if the credit under such 

2 section 36C had not been enacted. 

3 (2) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.—An agen4 cy or other entity that funds, licenses, or regulates 

5 an early childhood education program (as defined in 

6 section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 1003)) shall not reduce or adjust any 

8 teacher pay or teacher loan forgiveness program, or 

9 permit such a reduction or adjustment in the early 

10 childhood education program, due to the eligibility of 

11 teachers within the jurisdiction of such agency for 

12 the tax credit under section 36C of the Internal Rev13 enue Code of 1986. Each such agency or entity, 

14 upon request by the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 

15 demonstrate that the methodology used to allocate 

16 teacher pay and teacher loan forgiveness (if applica17 ble) to such early childhood education programs en18 sures that each such program receives the same 

19 State and local funds for teacher compensation it 

20 would receive if the credit under such section 36C 

21 had not been enacted. 

22 (d) EMPLOYER LIMITATIONS.— 

23 (1) PROHIBITION OF USE IN COLLECTIVE BAR24 GAINING.—An employer that engages in collective 

25 bargaining with employees who are eligible eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:50 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4125.IS S4125

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 4125 IS

1 cators, as defined in section 36C(c) of the Internal 

2 Revenue Code of 1986, shall not include the amount 

3 of the teacher tax credit under section 36C of such 

4 Code in determining the amount of salary or other 

5 compensation provided to any employee under the 

6 collective bargaining agreement. 

7 (2) PROHIBITION OF USE AS PUNISHMENT OR

8 RETRIBUTION.—An employer of an eligible educator, 

9 as defined in section 36C of the Internal Revenue 

10 Code of 1986, shall not change the work assignment 

11 or location of the eligible educator if one of the pri12 mary reasons for the change is to— 

13 (A) prevent the eligible educator from re14 ceiving a teacher tax credit under section 36C 

15 of such Code; or 

16 (B) reduce the amount of the teacher tax 

17 credit that the eligible educator will receive. 

18 (3) ENFORCEMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

19 other provision of law, the Federal Labor Relations 

20 Authority shall have the authority to investigate and 

21 enforce any alleged violation of this section in the 

22 same manner, and subject to the same procedures, 

23 as would apply to an allegation of an unfair labor 

24 practice under section 7118 of title 5, United States 

25 Code. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 4125 IS

1 (4) DEFINITION.—In this subsection— 

2 (A) the term ‘‘affecting commerce’’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 2 of the Na4 tional Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152); 

5 (B) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an em6 ployee of an employer who is employed in a 

7 business of an employer that affects commerce; 

8 and 

9 (C) the term ‘‘employer’’ means a person, 

10 including a State or political subdivision of a 

11 State, engaged in a business affecting com12 merce. 

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 3. INCREASE IN AND EXPANSION OF DEDUCTION FOR 

17 EXPENSES OF ELEMENTARY AND SEC18 ONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS. 

19 (a) INCREASE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (D) of section 

21 62(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘$250’’ and inserting ‘‘$500’’. 

23 (2) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Section 

24 62(d)(3) of such Code is amended— 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 4125 IS

1 (A) by striking ‘‘2015’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2022’’; 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘the $250 amount’’ and in4 serting ‘‘each of the dollar amounts’’; and 

5 (C) by striking ‘‘2014’’ in subparagraph 

6 (B) thereof and inserting ‘‘2021’’. 

7 (b) EXPANSION TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDU8 CATORS.—Section 62(d)(1)(A) of the Internal Revenue 

9 Code of 1986 is amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘who is a kindergarten’’ and in11 serting ‘‘who is— 

12 ‘‘(i) a kindergarten’’; 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert14 ing ‘‘, or’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(ii) an early childhood educator (as 

18 defined in section 200 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1021)) in 

20 an early childhood education program (as 

21 defined in section 103 of such Act (20 

22 U.S.C. 1003)) for at least 1,020 hours 

23 during a year.’’. 

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

25 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in taxVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:50 May 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4125.IS S4125

pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 4125 IS

1 able years beginning after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 SEC. 4. MANDATORY FUNDING TO SUPPORT LOCAL EDU4 CATIONAL AGENCIES THAT MAINTAIN OR IN5 CREASE TEACHER SALARIES. 

6 Section 2003 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu7 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6603) is amended— 

8 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘AU9 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘FUNDING’’; and 

11 (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(a) APPROPRIATIONS FOR PART A.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

15 appropriated, and there are appropriated, out of any 

16 funds not otherwise appropriated— 

17 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2022, $5,200,000,000 

18 to carry out part A; and 

19 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2023 and each suc20 ceeding fiscal year, the amount appropriated 

21 under this paragraph for the preceding year, in22 creased by a percentage equal to the annual 

23 percentage increase in the Consumer Price 

24 Index for All Urban Consumers published by 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 4125 IS

1 the Department of Labor for the most recent 

2 calendar year. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION FOR TEACHER SALARY IN4 CENTIVE GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

7 AGENCY.—The term ‘eligible local edu8 cational agency’ means a local educational 

9 agency that, for the preceding school year, 

10 maintained or increased the salary sched11 ule for all teachers employed by the local 

12 educational agency. 

13 ‘‘(ii) TEACHER SALARY INCENTIVE

14 RESERVATION.—The term ‘teacher salary 

15 incentive reservation’ means, for each fis16 cal year, the amount that is 20 percent of 

17 the amount by which the funds appro18 priated under paragraph (1) for the fiscal 

19 year exceeds $2,200,000,000. 

20 ‘‘(B) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year 

21 for which the total amount appropriated under 

22 paragraph (1) is greater than $2,200,000,000, 

23 the Secretary shall, after making any reserva24 tions under section 2101(a), reserve and use 

25 the teacher salary incentive reservation to 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 4125 IS

1 award grants, based on allotments under sub2 paragraph (C), to eligible local educational 

3 agencies for purposes described in subpara4 graph (E). 

5 ‘‘(C) ALLOTMENTS.—An allotment under 

6 this subparagraph for a fiscal year to an eligible 

7 local educational agency shall bear the same re8 lationship to the teacher salary incentive res9 ervation as the number of children counted 

10 under section 1124(c) who are served by the 

11 local educational agency bears to the total num12 ber of such children counted under such section 

13 served by all eligible local educational agencies 

14 that submitted an application under subpara15 graph (D). 

16 ‘‘(D) APPLICATION.—An eligible local edu17 cational agency desiring an allotment under this 

18 paragraph shall submit to the Secretary an ap19 plication at such time, in such manner, and 

20 containing such information as the Secretary 

21 may require. 

22 ‘‘(E) USE OF FUNDS.—A local educational 

23 agency receiving an allotment under subpara24 graph (C) may use the allotment to carry out 

25 one or more of the following: 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
18 

•S 4125 IS

1 ‘‘(i) Comprehensive teacher or school 

2 leader preparation programs described sub3 section (d), (e), or (f) of section 202 of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965. 

5 ‘‘(ii) Support for teachers to earn cer6 tifications or credentials in high-need fields 

7 or advanced credentials, such as certifi8 cation or credentialing by the National 

9 Board for Professional Teaching Stand10 ards. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Teacher leadership programs. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Induction or mentoring pro13 grams for new teachers, principals, or 

14 other school leaders. 

15 ‘‘(v) High-quality research-based pro16 fessional development. 

17 ‘‘(vi) Other activities approved by the 

18 Secretary that— 

19 ‘‘(I) promote and strengthen the 

20 teaching profession; 

21 ‘‘(II) attract, retain, and diver22 sify the educator workforce; or 

23 ‘‘(III) advance the skills and effi24 cacy of the educator workforce. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
19 

•S 4125 IS

1 ‘‘(F) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—A 

2 local educational agency receiving an allotment 

3 under subparagraph (C) shall use the allotment 

4 to supplement, and not supplant, any State 

5 funds or efforts to raise teacher pay.’’. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS