Teacher Incentive Allotment

The Texas Education Agency’s Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) program, established by the 86th Texas Legislature through House Bill 3 in June 2019, aims to recruit, support, and retain highly effective teachers in Texas schools. The program creates a pathway for financially recognizing top teachers by designating them as Recognized, Exemplary, or Master.

Prior to issuing designations, districts must go through a two-step application and approval process spanning three full school years. TEA evaluates local designation systems at both stages to ensure statutory compliance, validity, and reliability. In partnership with Texas Tech University (TTU), TEA annually monitors the quality and fairness of local designation systems.

TIA aligns with KISD’s District Improvement Plan by supporting the attraction, recruitment and effective induction of high-quality staff for student success (Goa1 4: Performance Objective 1). Implementing TIA will allow us to remain competitive with other districts in recruitment and retainment of teachers. In April 2025, KISD will submit an application to TEA for approval into the TIA system.

KISD teachers can visit (www.tiatexas.org) for more information on the Teacher Incentive Allotment.

Informational video about the Teacher Incentive Allotment:

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the earliest a teacher might see payment from the TIA?

Would there be a district calibration for administrators to attend to assist in the equity of expectations regarding each of the domains and dimensions that comprise T-TESS?

If a designated teacher moves campuses from one school to the next, will the allotment that teacher generates be recalculated? What if the teacher leaves in the middle of the year?

While designations are tied to the teacher and not their employing district or campus, allotment funds are awarded to the district where the teacher was employed in late February. The district employing the teacher in February will receive funds for that school year and must spend the allotment funds by August 31. The percentage of allotment awarded to the designated teacher varies by district. Districts are not required to forward funds if the teacher resigns or retires before August 31. If a designated teacher moves to a new district or campus between school years, the allotment for the next school year will be recalculated in April based on the new campus’s rural status and level of socioeconomic need.

Is teacher incentive allotment optional or required?

What if teachers now stop working together because they want the money and they don't want to share what they are doing with other teachers. Will this affect collaboration?

I heard from another district that I must maintain my designation status of Master the following years, or at least have to qualify for recognized in order to continue to get the Master level distinction. Is this true?

Per TEA, a designation cannot be submitted for a lower designation. However, districts have the discretion to decrease payment amounts or other stipulations if a teacher's performance decreases.

Several districts have expectations and requirements in place to ensure that designated teachers maintain their high status since TEA requires all data to be submitted yearly. This helps ensure that districts designate high-performing teachers based on their approved designation systems and ensures that TIA is used with fidelity and not as a way to increase a teacher's pay. Also, districts must ensure that if they are audited by TEA they will not have findings that could harm their designation approvals.

Can I take my TIA designation with me to any school within or out of KISD? If so, how would that affect my annual designation payout?

We hope that all KISD TIA teachers stay with us, but yes, once a designation is earned, it follows the teacher as long as they remain in a teaching position. A TIA payout can change. TIA allotment amounts are based on a TEA formula that factors in campus demographics and rural status. It is also based on a district compensation plan. Our goal is to retain our staff. If a teacher chooses to leave KISD, they are encouraged to check a district's TIA compensation plan to understand their TIA funding and to review the TEA TIA Funding Map.

What is a designation?

How is the KISD TIA designation system being developed?

Who is eligible to earn a designation through a local designation system?

Districts must verify that each teacher meets the following eligibility requirements before submitting them for a designation:

The teacher must be coded as 087 (Classroom Teacher) per the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) description of codes for 90 days at 100% of the day (equivalent to a full semester) or 180 days required at 50–99% of the day and compensated for that employment

In This Section