Teacher Incentive Allotment
What is TIA?
Gainesville ISD is thrilled to announce our official acceptance into the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA) through the Texas Education Agency (TEA). TIA was created by the Texas Legislature to provide a pathway for top-performing teachers to earn higher salaries and help districts attract and retain highly effective teachers.
The Texas Legislature created the TIA as part of House Bill 3 to help recruit, retain, and reward effective educators in the classroom at high-needs campuses. The TIA would provide additional funding to eligible teachers who earn local designations through this allotment system.
Designations are distinctions awarded to highly effective teachers. TIA established three levels of designation: Recognized, Exemplary, and Master. Designations are awarded to teachers either through their district’s local designation system or by achieving National Board Certification. Teachers with an active National Board certification may be designated as Recognized be the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
Once a teacher is designated, they may generate an annual allotment for their employing school district based on their campus of employment for five continuous years.
Allotments are recalculated annually in April. The amounts below were from April 2025 and vary slightly by campus. This is the average from all GISD campuses.
Recognized - $7,224
Exemplary - $14,447
Master - $26,079
To view campus specific amounts, visit the TIA funding map.
Helpful Resources
Timeline
Year One: Data Collection
- Collect data (T-TESS for teacher evaluations, pre-and post-tests for student growth)
- In the initial data collection year 2025-2026, GISD will offer fall and spring assessments for the following groups: Grades 4-6 Math and Reading.
Year Two: Designation
- October 2026: Submit data to TEA, along with a list of proposed teacher designations.
- April 2027: TEA approves (hopefully) the district’s data and designations.
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April 2027: TEA posts final TIA annual allotment.
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August 2027: Expend funds. (Get paid!)
Continuation
- In April of every year, a district can submit an expansion/modification application to TEA. GISD plans to strategically expand the eligible grade levels and content areas to include more teachers each year.
- The applications for expansion will be approved sometime between June - August.
Compensation
The statute requires that 90% of TIA funds be distributed directly to teachers at the campus in which the designated teacher is employed at the time the TIA funds are awarded.
* Gainesville ISD will distribute the required 90% directly to teachers at the campus. TIA designated teachers will receive 80% and support teachers at the campus where the designation was awarded will receive 10%.
* The remaining 10% of the TIA allotment funds generated will be used at the district level to support the designation system and to support teachers in getting designated.
Once approved, a teacher’s designation level relates directly to the amount of the allotment received by the district. Student need, as identified by compensatory education allotment (see TEC §48.104), is the other factor in determining this amount. In other words, teachers generate greater allotment when they work at schools with more significant economic needs.