A federal tax break for K-12 teachers may finally reach Alaska's preschool teachers

Alaska's preschool and daycare teachers spend their own money on the crayons, books, and snacks their classrooms run on. A federal bill would finally let them write some of it off — the same tax break kindergarten-through-12th-grade teachers have had for years.

Current federal law lets K-12 educators deduct up to $300 in unreimbursed classroom costs. The bill would extend that to early childhood educators, at up to $350.

The dollars are small, but the workforce is among Alaska's most stretched. Early childhood educators here earn far less than public school teachers — those with bachelor's degrees make well under their K-12 peers — and are several times more likely to live in poverty. That low pay feeds the turnover and staffing shortages that leave Alaska families short of care.

The U.S. Senate advanced the measure Tuesday, with both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan voting to move it forward, and the House passed it in April. Congress's tax scorekeepers estimate the change would cost about $648 million over 10 years. It is not yet law.