I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5855 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the exclusion 
from gross income of certain wages of a certified master teacher, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 20, 2006 
Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. WYNN, Mr. 
HOYER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. STARK, Mr. OWENS, 
Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. 
BUTTERFIELD, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, and Ms. MCKIN-
NEY) 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 
for the exclusion from gross income of certain wages 
of a certified master teacher, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. MASTER TEACHER EXCLUSION. 
(a) MASTER TEACHER EXCLUSION.—Part III of sub-
chapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended by inserting after section 139A the fol-
lowing new section: 
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‘‘SEC. 139B. CERTAIN WAGES OF CERTIFIED MASTER 
TEACHERS. 
‘‘(a) 25 PERCENT EXCLUSION.—Gross income does 
not include 25 percent of wages earned by a certified mas-
ter teacher in remuneration for employment at a qualified 
school in need of improvement or a Head Start program 
assisted under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et 
seq.). 
‘‘(b) CERTIFIED MASTER TEACHER.—For purposes 
of this section— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘certified master 
teacher’ means any eligible teacher who is certified 
by a State as being eligible for the exclusion from 
gross income provided under subsection (a) with re-
spect to wages earned during a 4-year certification 
period. A teacher shall not be treated as a certified 
master teacher except during the certification period. 
‘‘(2) RECERTIFICATION PROHIBITED.—A teach-
er shall not be certified as a certified master teacher 
for more than one certification period. 
‘‘(3) STATE LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF CER-
TIFIED MASTER TEACHERS.—A State may not cer-
tify any teacher if such certification would result (at 
the time of such certification) in more than 10 per-
cent of the State’s public school teachers being cer-
tified master teachers. 
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‘‘(c) QUALIFIED SCHOOL
IN NEED
OF IMPROVE-
MENT.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘qualified 
school in need of improvement’ means, with respect to any 
certified master teacher— 
‘‘(1) the school in need of improvement which 
first employs such teacher during the certification 
period, 
‘‘(2) any school in need of improvement which 
subsequently employs such teacher, but only if each 
school in need of improvement which previously em-
ployed such teacher during the certification period 
has ceased to be a school in need of improvement, 
and 
‘‘(3) any school described in paragraph (1) or 
(2) which ceases to be a school in need of improve-
ment, but only if such teacher was employed by such 
school (during such teacher’s certification period) at 
the time that such school ceased to be a school in 
need of improvement. 
‘‘(d) SCHOOL IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT.—For pur-
poses of this section, the term ‘school in need of improve-
ment’ means a public elementary or secondary school 
that— 
‘‘(1) is identified for school improvement, cor-
rective action, or restructuring under section 1116 
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of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6316), and 
‘‘(2) is eligible for a schoolwide program under 
section 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314). 
‘‘(e) ELIGIBLE TEACHER.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible teacher’ means a teacher who— 
‘‘(1) has had at least 5 years of teaching experi-
ence in a public elementary or secondary school, 
‘‘(2) is highly qualified, as defined in section 
9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801), 
‘‘(3) has a master’s degree, and 
‘‘(4) has earned— 
‘‘(A) advanced certification in the teacher’s 
State licensing system, or 
‘‘(B) in the case of a teacher in a State 
that does not offer advanced certification, cer-
tification from the National Board for Profes-
sional Teaching Standards. 
‘‘(f) CERTIFICATION PERIOD.—For purposes of this 
section, the term ‘certification period’ means, with respect 
to any certified master teacher, the 4-year period de-
scribed in subsection (b). 
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‘‘(g) STATE IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED
ON RE-
TURN.—With respect to any certified master teacher, no 
exclusion shall be allowed under subsection (a) for any 
taxable year unless the certified master teacher includes 
the State in which the teacher has been certified on the 
certified master teacher’s return of tax for such taxable 
year. 
‘‘(h) TERMINATION.—This section shall not apply to 
any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2013.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 139A the following new item: 
‘‘Sec. 139B. Certain wages of certified master teachers’’. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall transmit to the Congress for each of cal-
endar years 2007 through 2013 an annual report stating, 
with respect to each State, the number of individuals cer-
tified by such State as certified master teachers who were 
allowed an exclusion from gross income under section 
139B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for a taxable 
year ending in such calendar year. 
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
December 31, 2006. 
Æ 
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