RAISE Act

The Respect, Advancement, and Increasing Support for Educators (RAISE) Act of 2025

The Need for the Legislation

Teachers play a critical role in shaping young lives throughout our nation. They are instrumental in fostering character development and personal growth in students, ultimately influencing their future contributions to the workforce. Despite serving this essential and multifaceted role, public school teachers earn approximately 27 percent less than what similar college graduates earn working in other professions.

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, there were over 41,000 unfilled teacher positions that same year.3 Teacher shortages across the U.S. leave instruction in high-need subjects like science, math, special education, and English language development understaffed. Additionally, high poverty districts experience higher rates of teacher turnover, leaving students from families with low incomes at greater risk of experiencing a shortage.4 Low wages are often cited as a source of high turnover and teacher vacancies.

Research demonstrates that investing in competitive and fair teacher salaries, particularly as part of a broader strategy to support educators, can boost teacher recruitment and retention. However, despite numerous grassroots efforts to increase teacher compensation, salary improvements have been minimal at best. State and district initiatives have failed to close the teacher pay gap or effectively address teacher shortages. Federal intervention is essential to drive meaningful change.

The RAISE Act of 2025

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 from $250 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.

Click here to view the full piece of legislation