Teacher Incentive Allotment

The Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) was created by the Texas Legislature as part of House Bill 3 to provide a realistic pathway for top teachers to earn six-figure salaries and to help attract and retain highly-effective teachers at traditionally hard-to-staff schools. The TIA is dedicated to recruiting, supporting, and retaining highly effective teachers (Recognized, Exemplary, and Master) in all schools, with particular emphasis on high-needs and rural schools.

Teachers earn designations through two different routes. First, National Board Certified teachers are eligible to earn a Recognized designation. Second, districts may designate their effective teachers when they are approved for a local teacher designation system.

Currently, South Texas ISD designates National Board Certified teachers only. However, the District will also participate in TIA by developing a local teacher designation system that measures teacher effectiveness based on both teacher observation and student growth data.

The approval process is multi-step and includes the submission of a system application to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and then a data validation process through Texas Tech University. The TIA application was submitted to TEA for approval on April 14, 2023. The application will undergo a data validation process, which will be conducted by Texas Tech University. The first school year (2023-2024) our district will collect teacher effectiveness data in accordance with our local designation plan, also known as the data capture year. The teacher effectiveness data collected during the data capture year will be reviewed as part of the district approval process.

STISD will begin implementing the TIA in cohorts based on the needs of the district.

TIA statutory TEC 48.112 requires a district to annually certify that funds received under this section are used as follows: at least 90% of each allotment received will be used for the compensation of teachers employed at the campus at which the teacher for whom the district received the allotment is employed; and up to 10% will be used for costs associated with supporting the local designation system or to support teachers in obtaining the designation. Districts must expend the funding to meet statute by August 31 each year.

For any funds received by STISD for designated teachers under the TIA Local Teacher Designation System, 90% of the allotment will be given directly to the teacher who earned the designation. The other 10% will be retained by the District to provide teacher supports to include professional development for teachers striving to attain a designation, instruments that measure student growth and other TIA-related expenses. TIA allotments will be paid in the form of a stipend in the first year by August 31, 2025. In subsequent years, TIA stipend will be paid out to the designated teacher in one payment in August. However, the District plans to pay out a lump sum in May for teachers retiring with appropriate notice (complete the school year) and teachers promoted to a different position within the District. Designated teachers who break their contract or retire before the end of the school year (but after winter roster) will not receive their allotment payout and the district will redistribute the allotment they generated to other designated teachers (in 087 roles) on the campus where the departing designated teacher worked. If there are no designated teachers on the campus, the allotment will be equally distributed to all teachers in the same eligible teaching assignment as the departing teacher. Compensation for Recognized National Board Certified Teachers (NBCT’s) will follow the same spending plan as Recognized teachers who earned a designation through the District’s local designation system. Also, compensation for newly hired teachers that were designated by another district follow the same spending plan as teachers who earned a designation through the district’s local designation system.