Silicon Valley lawmaker’s bill reimburses pre-K teachers for supplies

A new federal tax bill will expand help to more Santa Clara County teachers who dig deep into their pockets to pay for school supplies. 

Educators spend an average of $895 each year to cover classroom supplies and learning materials for their students. The Supporting Early-Childhood Educators’ Deductions (SEED) Act, recently signed into law, extends a federal tax deduction previously available for K-12 teachers to transitional kindergarten (TK) and preschool educators. This bill piggybacks on a state law that created universal TK education in California. Through the SEED Act, authored by Silicon Valley Congressman Jimmy Panetta, early childhood educators can receive up to $350 next year in tax deductions to help offset their classroom expenses.

Panetta discussed the tax reimbursement with transitional kindergarten teachers at Santa Teresa Elementary School in San Jose’s Oak Grove School District on Oct. 26 while visiting the classrooms.

“Our teachers dedicate so much of their time and energy to their students,” Principal Kristi Frankina told San José Spotlight. “And that comes with money. (The reimbursement) helps them see that they’re valued. It gives them some of the money back in their pockets they’re spending to make their classrooms amazing places.”

Transitional kindergarten teacher Jennifer Anderson said although the district and the school’s Home and School Club provides teachers with some funding, she appreciates the tax relief. She personally spends more than $1,000 a year on classroom resources.

Anderson said covering these costs can be a financial hardship for some teachers, especially with the high price of living in San Jose.

“It is very hard. Every little penny helps,” she told San José Spotlight.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 130, the state TK-12 education package, in 2021. The bill included universal pre-kindergarten for all four-year-old children. The TK program began incrementally in 2022-23 and was fully implemented by 2025-26. But transitional kindergarten teachers could not write off any out-of-pocket expenses. 

Panetta said being in the schools and hearing K-12 teachers talk about how the tax deduction helped them motivated him to create the SEED Act.

“With the realization that pre-K didn’t have it, yet with an understanding of how important their work is, it’s the least that we can do to come together in a bipartisan bill,” he told San José Spotlight.

Public preschool makes a financial difference for parents who can’t afford to send their children to a private school, and it prepares children for kindergarten, Anderson said.

“Now we’re able to give 60 kids the opportunity to go to preschool,” she said. “As a kindergarten teacher, having your kids come in knowing how to write their names, how to hold scissors, how to problem-solve, how to stand in line, how to sit down and listen is huge. If they know their letters and sounds, that’s an extra bonus.”

Panetta said transitional kindergarten teachers help install foundational social skills in children, which are important for their advancement. He added that through the SEED Act, the federal government can contribute to student learning.

“It’s one-third of what they spend, but it’s something,” he said. “It’s not just financial, but the recognition by the federal government. We’re saying, ‘Thank you. We know you do a lot, and this is the least that we can do in these tough times.'”

When Julie Rau started teaching transitional kindergarten, she spent $3,000 a year on classroom supplies. This year, she’s spent $300 to date. 

“I want my kids to play with things, but everything adds up,” Rau told San José Spotlight.

She said TK is critical, as standards learned in transitional kindergarten today used to be taught in kindergarten.

“Now, kindergarten has so much higher expectations,” she said.

Patricia Mondragon-Doty, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for Oak Grove School District, said the district expanded the number of transitional kindergarten classes as enrollment numbers increased. Demand has the district offering a full-day program for working parents, with three transitional kindergartens classes at Santa Teresa Elementary School.

“Before it used to be one for every elementary school,” she told San José Spotlight. “Now, we have a minimum of not one, but two and now even some sites have three in Oak Grove.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at [email protected].