Teacher Incentive Allotment

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. 

BISD has been and will continue to analyze data to ensure our teachers maintain high standards. If we begin to see a drop in our data, we will have to review our plan to make adjustments as needed.

We hope that all BISDTIA 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. Here at BISD we do not retain the 10% for district use or split a teacher's allotment with other staff within their campus. Our goal is to retain our staff. If a teacher chooses to leave BISD, they are encouraged to check a district's TIA compensation plan to understand their TIA funding and to review the TEA TIA Funding Map.

Example, this year the allotment is $7,000 for Exemplary at my campus. What if next year it increases to $8,500, does my amount go up with it?

Yes.  TEA reviews student demographics and campus rural status each year to determine allotment amounts.  So, a designation amount can increase or decrease each year. I have seen a change in funding within the last couple of years for BISD campuses. This is why funding is given as a one-time payment in May or June for our teachers.

No, a designation will remain as is unless the teacher's data moves them up a level, then the five-year clock will start over. For example, Recognized >Exemplary, Exemplary > Master, or Recognized > Master. 

The ideal situation would be for a Recognized teacher to move to Exemplary next year, 7/31/29, then the following year move from Exemplary to Master, 7/31/30.  This would allow the designated teacher to have a designation for seven years vs. five years. 

Remember, a teacher would want to provide high student growth and T-TESS data to remain a designated teacher each year, or at least no less than Recognized. This shows the fidelity of our TIA system. To sum up, a designated teacher (Recognized, Exemplary, or Master) should remain within these parameters each year.

Eligibility Requirements for Designated Teachers to Continue Generating an Allotment:

Yes. To generate funds in future years, teachers with an active designation must remain employed in a teacher's role (087 Role ID in PEIMS) as of the last Friday in February and meet the creditable year of service requirement. TEA defines a creditable year of service as employed and compensated by a Texas school system in a teacher role (087 role ID in PEIMS) for at least 90 days at 100% of the day or 180 days at 50-99% of the day, or the equivalent of one semester.

No. TIA data collection and submission is only for active employees with BISD. 

TEA has a two-year retention system for TIA districts. This means that year one is data collection and year two is when a designation is awarded to an active employee. At the end of year two, if a designation is awarded, it will remain on a teacher's educational certificate for five years. 

Current TIA eligible employees should contact Ann Marie Shelton if they are planning on leaving BISD. 

Other content areas will be added to our TIA expansion application as the student growth measures for those content areas are identified, validated and reliable. Student Growth measures guidelines can be found on the TEA TIA website: Examples of Student Growth.

If you would like to discuss student growth measures options within your content area, please reach out to Ann Marie Shelton. 

All students on a teacher's roster will count for student growth measure data collection, as long as the student has a beginning-of-year and end-of-year MAP test. 

HB 3, 86th Legislature, included a massive increase in teacher pay. The Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) was established by HB 3 with a stated goal of a six-figure salary for teachers. TIA allotment funds help Texas school systems reward, retain, and recruit highly effective teachers. The funding formula prioritizes high needs and rural campuses.

Districts can now create compensation plans based on teacher effectiveness and student equity. This new model creates a path for outstanding teachers to earn a six-figure salary–thus, reducing the desire for highly effective teachers to leave the classroom.

TIA builds upon the success of past national incentive programs while removing previous barriers to success. (Texas Education Agency (TEA), n.d.)

The three designation levels are Recognized, Exemplary, and Master. Which are placed on a teachers SBEC teaching certification and last for five years.

BISD has decided to implement a TIA program in an effort to ennsure that all of our teachers have the same opportunity to access this state-funded stipend thorugh a local designation system or National Board Certification program.

BISD will form cross-functional teams and committees for the creation and design of a TIA local designation system. The teams will engage with stakeholders to implore feedback and input throughout the process.

BISD TIA Compensation Plan: Spending Plan

Texas Education Agency website: TIA State Website

Information for Texas Teachers: Texas Teachers

TEA TIA Allotment Funding MAP by Campus: TEA Interactive Funding Map

National Board Certification website: NBC Information

National Board Certification Fee Reimbursement: NBC Fee Reimbursement

For BISD Staff, you can find more information within the BISD Staff Portal, under the Teacher Incentive Allotment icon. The TIA icon contains surveys, informational videos, and other information. You will also find our TEA application and BISD Local Designation system scorecard.

If you have additional questions regarding Burleson ISD Teacher Incentive Allotment, please send an email to annmarie.shelton@bisdmail.net .