HR Services continues to work through the application process to become a local designation system for the Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA). TIA was created by House Bill 3 (86R) to keep highly effective teachers in the classroom by significantly raising their salaries.
The 2023-2024 academic year is the first phase of our path to fully implementing the TIA Designation System. This is a data collection year for our initial cohort of teachers. Round Rock ISD has adopted a phase-in approach to TIA, starting with Kindergarten, first, and second-grade teachers at nine Strategic and Increased Support elementary campuses for the 2023-2024 school year. Selected campuses are Bluebonnet, Callison, Joe Lee Johnson, Robertson, Voigt, Anderson Mill, Berkman, Union Hill, and Wells Branch.
Based on the data collected during 2023-2024 (T-TESS observation and student growth data), teachers who earn a designation will receive it in 2024-25 and receive a payout of TIA compensation in the summer of 2025. With a successful implementation, we plan to phase in additional teachers and campuses in subsequent years. Adopting a phased-in approach will help with program fidelity early, ensuring that systems sufficiently calibrate to scale up to other content areas and grade levels. The District will continue to use the T-TESS observation tool for all teacher evaluations.
The TIA committee, which is made up of principals, teachers, and other district personnel, met on February 28, reviewed the District’s implementation plan, and provided feedback on the proposed TIA compensation plan for the distribution of funds. When the Teacher Incentive Allotment was implemented through House Bill 3 in 2019, the District needed to develop a TIA funds distribution plan as part of the overall District compensation plan. At that time, it was decided to direct 100% of the funds to the teacher who had earned the designation.
This action did not account for associated Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS) costs, payroll taxes, or the costs resulting from the program’s administration. To ensure the sustainability of TIA over time as a more significant number of teachers become designated and to ensure no unintended impact on the district budget, we recommend adjusting the distribution plan. This adjustment would see 90% of the funds generated paid to the teacher who earned the designation. The remaining 10% allows the district to continue making TIA compensation TRS-eligible as we scale up and more teachers earn a designation and cover other payroll and administrative costs. This 10% could also be used to expand professional development for teachers or to help grow our National Board Certified teachers program. National Board Certified teachers, who remain in a teaching assignment, automatically earn a recognized designation and generate TIA funds without going through the designation system. Additionally, teachers can be reimbursed for many of the fees associated with earning and renewing a National Board Certification. Learn more about how to become a National Board Certified Teacher.
A next step in the application process is a TIA survey. Through Texas Tech University, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) administers a survey to all teachers employed by the District. This survey is designed to gauge teachers’ perceptions, understanding, and support for their local teacher designation system. Teachers should receive the survey in their District email in mid-late April.
Learn more about Teacher Incentive Allotment on the HR Services website.