House Bill 2 Implementation: Teacher Certification Incentive

House Bill 2 (HB 2), 89th Texas Legislative Session, established the Teacher Certification Incentive under Texas Education Code (TEC), §21.0033, to support currently employed, uncertified educators in completing the certification process and to assist districts with teacher retention. The incentive provides districts with a one-time, $1,000 payment for each eligible classroom teacher who completes all required preparation components and is issued a standard certificate.

This communication outlines how TEA will implement TEC, §21.0033, the actions districts must take to ensure eligible teachers are reported and documented accurately, and the steps the agency will carry out to verify eligibility and distribute funds. The information below is intended to guide districts and the agency in meeting all statutory requirements by September 1, 2028.

Teacher Certification Incentive (TCI)

How Is Funding Determined?

For districts to receive funding from the TCI, as specified in legislation, eligible teachers must meet all the following criteria:

• Hired as an uncertified first-year teacher in 2022-23, or 2023-24 school year, and were still uncertified as of January 1, 2025.
• Achieved standard certification by the end of the 2026-27 school year.
• Continuously employed as a teacher by the district.

How are Eligible Teachers Identified?

TEA used Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) Fall Submission data to identify employment of teachers and Educator Certification Online System (ECOS) data to identify certification.

What Additional Information Will be Shared?

TEA has developed a “Teacher Certification Incentive Report” that is now available for district review through the secure, online Foundation School Program System (FSP) in TEAL. To view the report, the superintendent, or superintendent designee, can navigate to the School District State Aid Reports.  

The Teacher Certification Incentive Report includes all eligible teachers for your district. It is important to note that districts will receive payments for some of their eligible teachers in 2026 and will receive final payments for all remaining eligible teachers in 2027. 

In this report, districts with teachers who meet the conditions for 2026, including issuance of a standard certificate during the timeframe of January 1, 2025, through June 1, 2026, will receive a TCI payout for each eligible educator by early August 2026. TEA anticipates repeating this process using similar timelines for the 2027 TCI payouts to districts, ensuring that final TCI payouts are completed by early August 2027. 

What Actions are Needed From Districts?

Districts will need to review their data in the Teacher Certification Incentive Report and identify any missing educators eligible for the TCI by submitting a completed Teacher Certification Incentive Data Change Request Form to TEA by June 12, 2026.

Districts can submit their data change requests through the form here: Teacher Certification Incentive Data Change Request Form. This form has been designed in Qualtrics to streamline the information districts are required to provide and facilitate secure submission, review, and approval processes for districts and the agency.

Districts that take no action by June 12, 2026, will receive a TCI payout for 2026 in alignment with the Teacher Certification Incentive Report. The Teacher Certification Incentive Report will be updated by the end of June in 2026 and 2027, confirming the list of eligible teachers who qualified for the incentive that year.

What is the Payment Timeline?

TEA anticipates districts will receive their 2026 TCI payouts in early August 2026. The TCI payouts will be issued to districts as direct deposits, which will be viewable in their TEA Payment Report. TEA anticipates repeating this process in the 2026-27 school year, with final distributions of TCI payments to districts in early August 2027.

Additional Questions

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact the Division of Educator Certification directly by telephone at 512-936-8400, option 2, or Submit a TEA Help Desk Ticket to Educator Certification with the Subject Line: Teacher Certification Incentive – Request for Assistance.