Texas Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Incentive Program – State Exam Fee Subsidy for the 2019-2020 School Year

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DATE:  August 22, 2019
SUBJECT: Texas Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Incentive Program – State Exam Fee Subsidy for the 2019-2020 School Year
CATEGORY: State Subsidy
NEXT STEPS: Share with AP and IB coordinators

The state subsidy provided through the Advanced Placement (AP)/International Baccalaureate (IB) Incentive Program for the May 2020 administration will be $30 per AP and IB exam taken by an eligible student. 

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has provided subsidies for students taking AP and IB exams since 1993 with the enactment of the AP/IB Incentive Program. While the amounts of these subsidies have changed over the years, TEA is committed to ensuring AP and IB exams remain affordable to low-income students. 

Eligible student:
The criteria for qualifying for a Texas State subsidy is the same for both AP and IB exams. AP exam fees and the published criteria for identifying an eligible student can be found here.  IB exam fees are published here.  

AP/IB exam subsidy payments:

  • AP exam fee subsidies will be granted on the AP Program Invoice due to the College Board AP Program by June 15, 2020.  
    • The College Board will invoice TEA for the 2020 AP exam fee subsidies credited on the campus AP Program Invoice.
    • After reconciliation of the invoice, TEA will send AP exam fee subsidies to the College Board AP Program.   
  • An IB exam fee reimbursement (subsidy) application will be submitted to TEA by each IB campus.  
    • The IB Subsidy Application will be available on the TEA’s IB webpage by May 1, 2020.
    • The application will be due to TEA by June 30, 2020.  

Planning for the 2019-2020 school year:
The College Board is changing the process and timeline for ordering the May 2020 AP exams. Each campus must establish their online authorization as an AP test center beginning August 1, 2019.  All AP exams will be ordered through the online AP Classroom. The preferred AP exam ordering deadline is October 4, 2019, with the final order deadline of November 15, 2019. Payment is due by June 15, 2020 with a College Board generated AP Program Exam Invoice.  Administrators may want to review the changes and consider budget implications while planning AP/IB budgets for the school year. Additional information regarding the changes can be found on the College Board’s website at https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/news-changes/ap-2019/whats-new.

If you have questions or need assistance, please visit our new Advanced Academics website or contact Kay Humes at advancedacademics@tea.texas.gov.