A state program offering teacher bonuses totaling up to $32,000 annually reached a major milestone in 2025, with more than half of Texas’ public school districts now participating in the program.
About 800 of Texas’ 1,200 districts had been accepted into the Teacher Incentive Allotment, a pay-for-performance initiative launched in 2019 to address mounting educator retention issues, according to data published by the Texas Education Agency. The 2024-25 school year marked the largest number of additions to the program, with another 212 districts joining the roster of participants.
Nearly all of the Houston area’s largest districts have joined TIA, with several already drawing millions of dollars, while two remaining districts aim to sign on in the coming years.
State lawmakers created the allotment to stem growing frustration from education leaders over the quality of Texas’ teacher pool. Turnover rates have ticked up slightly over the past decade, while the share of newly hired teachers lacking certification has tripled following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Texas school districts can access TIA funding by adopting state-approved teacher evaluation systems, which are often based on a combination of administrator observations, student test scores and other factors. Top-rated teachers generate $3,000 to $32,000 in TIA funding for their school based on their rating — either “recognized,” “exemplary” or “master” — and the socioeconomic status of their campus’ student population. (A fourth rating, “acknowledged,” is allowed starting in 2026-27.)
Slightly more than half of the 800 participating districts had their systems approved ahead of the 2025-26 school year, while the remaining districts had submitted initial applications accepted by the state.
Texas has distributed just over $1 billion since the launch of TIA, including about $480 million in 2025. At least 90% of TIA money must be spent on compensation for all teachers at the highly rated teacher’s school, with districts deciding how much to allocate to each teacher.
TIA supporters say the initiative offers top-ranked teachers the opportunity to earn more money — including six-figure salaries in rare cases — and helps keep high-performing educators in the classroom. State data shows the classroom retention rate for TIA-designated teachers is nearly 10 percentage points higher than non-designated teachers.
Critics argue the system puts too much emphasis on teacher test scores, doesn’t accurately measure educator performance and hurts collegiality in schools.
Still, districts that spurn the initiative may face more challenges attracting and retaining teachers, who could potentially earn higher salaries elsewhere.
TIA takes hold
The TIA system has steadily grown across Texas since its launch, adding roughly 100 to 200 school districts in each of the past several years. The state expects to cross the 1,000-district mark in the next year or two, with another 200 districts submitting a letter of intent to launch TIA systems.
Nearly 40,000 of the state’s 370,000 teachers generated TIA funding for their campus last school year, with an average payout of $11,800, according to state data.
While Texas law doesn’t explicitly limit which teachers are eligible for a rating, many districts have narrowed which educators are evaluated under their TIA system. Common constraints include a lack of student performance data, particularly in younger grades or subjects like physical education, and a shortage of resources for evaluating teachers.
In districts with state-approved TIA systems, about two-thirds of teachers were eligible for a rating, with math and reading educators receiving the most opportunity.
State education leaders and many lawmakers have heralded TIA as a clear success, continuing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the program. As evidence, they have noted that nearly 90% of top-rated teachers returned to a classroom in their district each of the past few years, compared to about 80% of non-rated teachers.
In a 2024 working paper analyzing the impact of TIA on the first 26 districts adopting the program, Texas Tech University researchers concluded the system “moderately and meaningfully impacted student math and reading achievement” and reduced teacher turnover, particularly for educators with three to five years of experience. The working paper has not been peer-reviewed, and the researchers noted several limitations to their analysis.
The Houston landscape
Among the Houston region’s 20 largest districts, all but a few have been approved to join TIA or had initial applications accepted.
Neighboring Aldine and Spring ISDs each generated about $8.5 million last school year, with 750 and 580 rated teachers, respectively, earning top marks. Both were early adopters of the TIA and serve a large share of students from lower-income families.
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, the region’s second-largest school district, saw $7.4 million in TIA money. Conroe, Katy, Klein and Tomball ISDs each netted $3.1 million to $3.8 million.
Several smaller and midsized districts also secured significant amounts of funding relative to their size, including Brazosport, Galveston and Texas City ISDs and Harmony Public Schools’ Houston-area districts.
Four of the region’s largest districts — Houston, Fort Bend and Alvin ISDs and Lamar CISD — haven’t implemented TIA systems but had initial applications accepted by the state.
The Houston area’s two large districts that haven’t been accepted into TIA — Clear Creek and Spring Branch ISDs — have submitted letters of intent to apply soon.
