I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1377 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a credit against 

tax for an individual teaching in a school with a significant number 

of limited English proficient students and to provide a deduction for 

expenses paid or incurred by a teacher for courses required for certification in teaching English as a second language. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2007 

Mr. CUELLAR (for himself, Mr. RENZI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PASTOR, and Ms. 

HERSETH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

a credit against tax for an individual teaching in a school 

with a significant number of limited English proficient 

students and to provide a deduction for expenses paid 

or incurred by a teacher for courses required for certification in teaching English as a second language. 

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 ‘‘Teachers of English 

5 Language Learners Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CREDIT FOR TEACHERS IN LIMITED ENGLISH PRO2 FICIENT SCHOOL. 

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

5 1986 (relating to nonrefundable personal credits) is 

6 amended by inserting after section 25D the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 25E. TEACHERS IN LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT 

9 SCHOOLS. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an eligible teacher, 

11 there shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed 

12 by this chapter for the taxable year an amount equal to— 

13 ‘‘(1) $1,500, for each of the first 5 taxable 

14 years for which the taxpayer is allowed a credit 

15 under this section, and 

16 ‘‘(2) $1,000, for any other taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(b) CREDIT ALLOWED ONLY FOR 10 TAXABLE

18 YEARS.—No credit shall be allowed under this section 

19 with respect to a taxpayer for any taxable year after the 

20 10th taxable year for which such taxpayer is allowed a 

21 credit under this section. 

22 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE TEACHER.—For purposes of this sec23 tion— 

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

25 means, with respect to a taxable year, any individual 

26 who is a full-time teacher in any limited English 


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1 proficient school for the academic year ending in 

2 such taxable year. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT SCHOOL.— 

4 The term ‘limited English proficient school’ means 

5 any school— 

6 ‘‘(A) which provides elementary education 

7 or secondary education, as determined under 

8 State law, and 

9 ‘‘(B) in which 10 percent or more of the 

10 students enrolled are limited English proficient 

11 (as defined in section 9901 of the Elementary 

12 and Secondary Education Act of 1965).’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 for such subpart is amended by inserting after the item 

15 relating to section 25D the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 25E. Teachers in limited English proficient schools.’’. 

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. 3. TEACHING ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE CER20 TIFICATION EXPENSES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap22 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

23 additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended 

24 by redesignating section 224 as section 225 and by insert25 ing after section 223 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 224. TEACHING ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE CER2 TIFICATION EXPENSES. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an individual, 

4 there shall be allowed as a deduction TESL certification 

5 expenses paid or incurred by the taxpayer for the taxable 

6 year. 

7 ‘‘(b) TESL CERTIFICATION EXPENSES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec9 tion, the term ‘TESL certification expenses’ means 

10 tuition and fees required for the enrollment or at11 tendance of the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse at 

12 an eligible educational institution (as defined in sec13 tion 25A) for a course which is required for certifi14 cation of such individual as qualified to teach 

15 English to elementary or secondary school students 

16 who are limited English proficient (as defined in sec17 tion 9901 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965). 

19 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Such term shall not in20 clude any amounts to the extent such amounts— 

21 ‘‘(A) are for a course that is part of the 

22 individual’s degree program, or 

23 ‘‘(B) are funded by another person (or any 

24 governmental entity). 

25 ‘‘(c) DENIAL OF DOUBLE BENEFIT.—No deduction 

26 shall be allowed under this section for any expense for 


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1 which a deduction or credit is allowed under any other 

2 provision of this chapter.’’. 

3 (b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETHER OR NOT TAX4 PAYER ITEMIZES OTHER DEDUCTIONS.—Subsection (a) 

5 of section 62 of such Code is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(22) TEACHING ENGLISH AS SECOND LAN8 GUAGE CERTIFICATION EXPENSES.—The deduction 

9 allowed by section 224.’’. 

10 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

12 is amended by striking the last item and inserting the fol13 lowing new items: 

‘‘Sec. 224. Teaching English as second language certification expenses. 

‘‘Sec. 225. Cross reference.’’. 

14 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred in tax16 able years beginning after December 31, 2007 . 

Æ 


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