Educators for Collins

The National Education Association gave Senator Collins a letter grade of A, the highest possible, for her strong support of public education and educators based on her voting record, co-sponsorship of bills critical to NEA's identified legislative priorities, accessibility, and behind-the-scenes advocacy.

Senator Collins makes it a priority to visit Maine's schools as often as she can. She has visited over 150 Maine elementary and high schools throughout her time as a Senator.

Senator Collins authored legislation, which became law in 2002, to create a $250 above-the-line deduction for teachers for their out-of-pocket classroom costs. When the tax provision expired, she was successful in urging Congress to approve an extension in December 2006. Senator Collins continues to listen to the concerns of teachers and realizes that classroom supplies are not the only out-of-pocket expense that teachers incur. Many of Maine's teachers use their own money for costs related to professional development. In response, she has introduced legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the above-the-line deduction for classroom expenses from $250 to $400, extend the deduction to include qualified professional development expenses, and make the deduction permanent.

In 2003, as the Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senator Collins held the first Senate hearing on the windfall elimination provision (WEP) and the government pension offset (GPO). Both GPO and WEP affect workers who are eligible for federal, state or local pensions from work not covered by Social Security, but who also qualify for Social Security benefits based on their own other work or that of their spouses. The two provisions often penalize people for holding jobs in public service when the time comes for them to retire. Senator Collins is an original co-sponsor of the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 206), legislation that would repeal these two provisions of the Social Security Act. On October 18, 2007, Senator Collins and Senator Feinstein sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee requesting that they schedule a hearing on the Social Security Fairness Act. The Finance Committee agreed to the request and held a hearing titled, "GPO-WEP: Policies Affecting Pensions From Work Not Covered By Social Security," in the Social Security Subcommittee on November 6th where Senator Collins testified on behalf of the teachers of Maine.

Senator Collins created a task force in Maine to examine the impact of the No Child Left Behind law on Maine students and teachers. The task force provided recommendations in the following areas: annual yearly progress and assessment; reading and limited English proficiency students; special education; and highly qualified teachers. Based on the task force's recommendations, Collins co-authored the No Child Left Behind Flexibility and Improvements Act. The bill reforms NCLB by giving states, school districts, and schools greater control and flexibility in implementing and executing the law. Specifically, this bill includes a provision that will provide significant relief for teachers of multiple subjects in meeting highly qualified teacher requirements. The recommendations in this bill are guiding the Senate's congressional committee as it writes a NCLB reauthorization bill.

Senator Collins is a co-sponsor of the Teachers at the Table Act (S. 2060), a bill that would create a Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee to advise Congress and the Department of Education on the impact of No Child Left Behind on students, their families, and the classroom learning environment. Establishment of this advisory committee would provide nationwide feedback from some of America's best teachers on NCLB's impact in our nation's classrooms.