WASHINGTON, D.C. — During Teacher Appreciation Week, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) reintroduced the bicameral Respect, Advancement, and Increasing Support for Educators (RAISE) Act, legislation that would boost teacher compensation by putting tax money back in their pockets and help diversify the teaching workforce. The bill would provide educators with a minimum of $1000 in refundable tax credits and as much as $15,000.

Teachers play a critical role in shaping young lives throughout our nation. Currently, public elementary and secondary teachers earn about 27 percent less than similarly educated professions. Based on a worldwide comparison, the average salary gap between teachers and others with comparable educational backgrounds is greater in the U.S. than in any other OECD country with available data.

There were over 41,000 unfilled teacher positions that same year. Teacher shortages across the U.S. leave instruction in high-need subjects like science, math, special education, and English language development understaffed. Furthermore, according to a recent analysis of state-reported teacher shortage data, 49 states plus the District of Columbia employed over 365,000 teachers who were not fully certified for their teaching assignment in 2024. Additionally, high poverty districts also experience higher rates of teacher turnover, leaving students from families with low incomes at greater risk of experiencing a shortage. Low wages are often cited as a source of high turnover and teacher vacancies.

Through refundable tax credits, the RAISE Act will help boost the compensation of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school teachers. Depending on the level of poverty in the schools educators serve, public school teachers would be eligible for a tax credit up to $15,000. The bill would also double the educator tax deduction, which teachers can use to offset the cost of school supplies and expand eligibility to early childhood educators.

“Teachers are the backbone of our education system, and tasked every day with the responsibility to help shape and develop the minds of our nation’s children,” said Senator Booker. “It’s unacceptable that despite the invaluable role they play in our society, teachers are still underpaid and undervalued. This legislation aims to provide up to $15,000 in tax credits for public school teachers so we can close the wage gap and finally give our educators a much needed raise.”

“Public education is the foundation of upward mobility in our society and the chance for a better life, and our teachers play the most vital role. If we want to attract and retain the best teachers amidst all of the challenges of staffing shortages, large classrooms and aging facilities, they need our support. We must provide teachers with the long-overdue wage increases they deserve for shaping the next generation of citizens and leaders,” said Senator Schiff.

“The Trump agenda of gutting the Department of Education while slashing taxes for the ultra-wealthy will ultimately take money out of the pockets of hard-working New Jersey educators and families," said NJEA President Sean Spiller. "Trump's cuts to education funding and his billionaire tax giveaways will mean fewer resources for children, especially students with special needs, and less money to support New Jersey's educators and our best-in-the-nation public schools. We applaud Senator Booker for the RAISE Act of 2025, which provides tax breaks where they belong: to working class educators and to parents.”

“The RAISE Act introduced by Senator Booker recognizes the commitment and dedication of our early childhood, elementary and secondary school teachers. While giving tax credits doesn’t solve the underpaying of teachers, it will help with a school district’s recruiting and retention efforts. The bill also rewards districts that maintain or increase salaries with additional grants that can be used for more recruiting and retention efforts especially in our neediest districts. AFTNJ thanks Senator Booker for introducing and continuing to advocate for this important and necessary legislation,” said Jennifer S. Higgins, President, American Federation of Teachers New Jersey (AFTNJ).

The RAISE Act would improve financial compensation for elementary, secondary, and early childhood teachers to help address the teacher shortage and wage disparity. Specifically, the legislation would:

  • Create Refundable Tax Credits for Educators: 
    • A sliding scale tax credit of up to $15,000 for public school teachers, with the highest credits for educators in high-poverty schools.
    • Up to $15,000 for early childhood educators with a bachelor’s degree and up to $10,000 for those with an associate degree or CDA credential. 
    • $1,000 refundable tax credit for all eligible early childhood and K–12 educators.
  • Increase the educator tax deduction to $500 to offset teacher’s purchases of school supplies. 
  • Increase, by nearly $3 billion, annual mandatory funding for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act’s Title II, which supports educator recruitment, retention, professional development, and class size reduction. 
  • Create and fund a federal grant program to incentivize local educational agencies to increase teacher salaries and strengthen, retain, and diversify the educator workforce. 

The RAISE Act is endorsed by the following organizations: National Education Association (NEA), New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), Prepared To Teach, Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK), The Teacher Salary Project, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), National Writing Project, First Five Years Fund, Education Law Center (ELC), Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Center for Black Educator Development, Educational Testing Service (ETS), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), AASA - The School Superintendents Association, National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD), Early Edge California, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), The Education Trust (EdTrust), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), First Focus Campaign for Children, Deans for Impact (DFI), National Parents Union, All4Ed, NAACP, Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL), Center for American Progress (CAP), American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA), Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL), TEACH, Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE), Education Reform Now, National Women's Law Center (NWLC), Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS), Leading Educators, Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA), Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), Public Advocates, ZERO TO THREE, National PTA, National Center for Languages and International Studies, Advance CTE, AFL-CIO California Federation of Teachers (CFT), American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), UnidosUS, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), MomsRising, and Educators for Excellence, the Southern Education Foundation.

The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

To read the full text of the bill, click here.