1,600 Texas teachers approved for state’s incentive allotment

Palestine Herald-Press

AUSTIN — The Texas Education Agency announced Thursday that 1,600 teachers have been approved for the state’s teacher incentive allotment, a designation created to improve teacher pay.

The Teacher Incentive Allotment, passed as part of House Bill 3 in 2019, has the stated goal of offering a six-figure salary for teachers who prioritize teaching in high needs areas and rural district campuses. It funnels additional state money to approved school districts and educators as a means to recognize and reward their work in the classroom as well as provide an incentive to stay.

“Right now, we're seeing a nationwide movement to increase teachers’ salaries, which is not just necessary, but very justified,” said Slaton ISD Assistant Band Director Trey Gossett in a statement. “And for the state and even our school district to step up and make TIA available to the faculty here is a big deal. Being a teacher requires a lot of hours, and you don't always feel like you're getting paid for the amount of work you put into it, and (TIA) has been a really nice reward for that work.”

Since 2019, TIA has allocated $138.7 million in additional funding to school systems across Texas, the agency said. During the 2021-22 school year, approximately $55.5 million was distributed toward teacher compensation for more than six thousand Recognized, Exemplary, or Master designated teachers, it said.

Now in its fourth year, a total of 373 of the state’s 1,026 school districts are actively participating in TIA, 29 of which were fully approved during the 2021-22 school year. Of the districts participating in TIA, nearly 50% are considered rural, the agency said.

For districts to be approved, they must undergo a multi-year application process. The process starts with system development and an application that must pass statutory and regulatory requirements, followed by a full year of implementation to capture teacher performance data, per the state website.