Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Better Protecting Children in Schools Act of 2013”.
Better Protecting Children in Schools Act of 2013
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage a law enforcement presence in our schools by allowing full-time, off-duty law enforcement officials an exclusion from income for wages received for performing services in an elementary or secondary school as a substitute teacher.
Sec. 2 Findings and purposes
Findings— Congress finds the following:
Off-duty law enforcement officials work in a number of part-time employment capacities where they can earn a higher level of income than they would by substitute teaching at an elementary or secondary school.
Law enforcement officials act as deterrents to criminal behavior as well as first responders in the case of criminal activity.
Past Congresses have worked to increase the number of law enforcement officials in elementary and secondary schools to protect students from possible violent attacks through programs such as grants for school resource officers.
Providing full-time, on-duty law enforcement officials has proven to be costly to school districts.
On any given day in the United States, more than 270,000 classes are taught by substitute teachers and many States have reported a shortage of substitute teachers, including the State of Ohio.
Substitute teaching requirements vary by State and by school district.
Purposes— It is the purpose of this Act to—
incentivize off-duty law enforcement officials to choose to substitute teach in elementary and secondary schools (within the confines of State and local substitute teaching requirements) by reducing the difference between the compensation a law enforcement official earns from other part-time employment and the compensation a law enforcement official earns from substitute teaching;
create a deterrent for criminal behavior in schools as well as a first response to assist school administrators and teachers in an instance where criminal activity occurs at a school;
build on the work of past Congresses to increase the number of law enforcement officials in elementary and secondary schools to protect students from possible violent attacks;
provide school districts with an additional cost-effective tool, which is not a mandate, to have more law enforcement officials in their schools;
provide an additional source of substitute teachers which may assist with the shortage that many States are facing; and
only allow law enforcement officials who meet State and local substitute teaching requirements to substitute teach.
Sec. 3 Exclusion for substitute teaching wages received by full-time, off-duty State or local law enforcement officials
In general— Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items specifically excluded from gross income) is amended by inserting after section 139D the following new section:
“139E. Substitute teaching wages received by full-time, off-duty State or local law enforcement officials
“(a) General rule—In the case of a full-time, off-duty State or local law enforcement official, gross income shall not include wages received by such official for providing services as a substitute teacher in an elementary or secondary school.
“(b) Definitions—For purposes of this section—
“(1) Full-time, off-duty state or local law enforcement official—The term full-time, off-duty State or local law enforcement official means any police officer (including a highway patrolman, sheriff, or sheriff’s deputy) employed by a State (or the District of Columbia), or a political subdivision thereof, on a full-time basis with the power to arrest and who is not acting within their official employment by the State or political subdivision.
“(2) Elementary or secondary school—The term elementary or secondary school means any school which provides elementary education or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined under State law.”
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for such part III is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139D the following new item:
Effective date— The amendments made by this section shall apply to wages received after the date of the enactment of this Act in taxable years ending after such date.