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The tax overhaul Republicans are expected to pass this week has caused a stir in education circles for months. One provision that received outsize attention from countless teachers and school administrators was the possible elimination of the deduction teachers can take for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.

However, the bill, which was finalized last Friday, retains the deduction for teachers. Republicans say to pass it.

The current policy 鈥� which remains unchanged in the new bill 鈥斅燼llows teachers to deduct up to $250 a year from their taxable income for the personal money they spend on classroom materials, such as snacks, clothing for students, decorations, and books.

Here鈥檚 what you need to know:

1 It鈥檚 a compromise.

The Senate wanted to double the break to $500 a year, and the House wanted to eliminate it altogether; the final bill holds it steady at $250. When deducted from the average teacher鈥檚 salary, the break for most teachers is

2 On average, teachers spend far more than $250 a year for classroom supplies.

A 2016 by the publishing company Scholastic found that teachers spend an average of $530 a year on their students and classrooms 鈥� mostly on decorations, school supplies, and snacks for students.

Teachers鈥� total amount of out-of-pocket expenses was by the National School Supply and Equipment Association to be around $1.6 billion in the 2012鈥�13 school year, which means a maximum of $825 million could have been deducted from teachers鈥� incomes that year.

3 Teachers at high-poverty schools spend almost $150 more annually.

At high-poverty schools, teachers spend an average of $672 on supplies, the Scholastic study found.

4 Principals spend their own money, too.

In high-poverty schools, principals spend on average $1,014 a year on supplies for their schools, according to the study. They can also , as can counselors and classroom aides.

5 Some teachers saw the proposed elimination of the deduction as a reflection of the value House Republicans place on their profession.

鈥淯nfortunately, the GOP鈥檚 tax plan just sent teachers a different and disheartening message: Your work doesn鈥檛 matter. We don鈥檛 value your money. We don鈥檛 value your time. We don鈥檛 value your dedication to children,鈥� one former teacher wrote on 麻豆精品.

Early in the debate, Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida the deduction is an example of the 鈥渃omplicated, small, sometimes invisible benefits鈥� that the House version of the bill tried to end.

鈥淒o we want a tax code that has special and small benefits for many small groups of Americans, or do we want a tax code that broadly benefits all Americans and that treats all Americans fairly?鈥� .

Nationwide, the Federal Reserve that about $210 million was lost in tax revenue because of the teacher deduction in 2016.

More than 93,000 people signed an urging leaders to keep the deduction.

Some teachers took to social media to ask why teachers were losing their deduction, which isn鈥檛 worth much money, while others were getting tax breaks for more frivolous items 鈥� like

https://twitter.com/PrplMnkyCupcake/status/937363950747947008

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