For most teachers, hard work never pays off the way it should. It’s no secret that they are underpaid and overworked, always sacrificing for their students, families and communities. For many educators, that includes spending their own hard-earned money on classroom supplies to give students the education they deserve.

According to a Department of Education study, 94percent of public school teachers spend hundreds of dollars of their own hard-earned money on classroom supplies each year. 1 in 10 spend over $1,000. Right now, teachers can only deduct a fraction of these costs on their taxes.

That’s why I introduced the Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act to quadruple the amount that K-through-12 educators can deduct from their taxes for classroom expenses. It would raise the base amount teachers can deduct from $250 to $1,000. And it would include teachers, counselors, principals and other aides.

Ohio educators shouldn’t have to dip into their already too-small paychecks just to do their jobs.

This is a small but meaningful tax cut for the educators who do so much – and often sacrifice so much – for their students and their families and our communities, both inside and outside the classroom.

Sherrod Brown is a Democrat and the senior U.S. senator representing Ohio. His office can be reached at 202-224-2315.