Texas Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate Incentive Program - Teacher Training Reimbursement (TTR)

2018 Teacher Training Reimbursement  

Funds allocated by the 85^th Texas Legislature in the General Appropriations Act, Article III, Rider 46 will allow TEA to administer the 2018 Teacher Training Reimbursement (TTR) program. Applications are due Friday, November 2, 2018. More information about the 2018 TTR can be found below.

Eligible Trainings: Trainings must have occurred between September 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018 in order to be eligible for 2018 TTR. Additionally, trainings must be offered by an approved provider and must be targeted for AP, IB, Pre-AP or an equivalent advanced course approved by the school district for AP preparation, and/or Pre-IB/MYP instruction. Approved training providers for 2018 TTR include: 

• An AP institute training of 24 hours or longer for a Pre-AP or AP course
• An IB training of at least 15 hours or longer for candidate or authorized IB schools
• A 24-hour science, math or English training provided by the National Math and Science Initiative (formerly Laying the Foundation)
• Springboard Training
• Confer Mentoring Program® 30-hour subject-specific trainings

Eligible Applicants: This program is only eligible for teachers in Texas public schools. In order to be eligible for 2018 TTR, the applicant must attend an eligible training and must be teaching an AP, IB, Pre-AP or an equivalent advanced course, or Pre-IB/MYP course in the 2018-2019 school year. Counselors, librarians, administrators, facilitators, and coordinators are not eligible for TTR. In addition, teachers are only eligible to receive reimbursement every other school year. Therefore, teachers who received a 2017 TTR (for training taken in the 2016-2017 school year) are not eligible for the 2018 TTR.

How to Apply: Applications must be sent from a campus or district AP/IB coordinator, not from individual teachers. Local education agencies (LEAs) may follow their own procedures for gathering information from eligible applicants. Eligible teachers should communicate with their campus and district leadership to complete an application. 

• TTR applications must be submitted through Qualtrics, a secure survey application system. It may be accessed here: 2018 Teacher Training Reimbursement Application.
• The application requires an email address of the responsible party - the campus principal, coordinator or the superintendent-appointed district coordinator. The responsible party is responsible for all information in the application. This person must have verified the information submitted to the Texas Education Agency via this application and certify its truth and accuracy..
• Only applications through the Qualtrics system will be accepted. Do not email, mail, or fax the information. Emailed, mailed, and faxed applications will not be accepted.

Information Needed: The application will require the following for each campus or district:

• A designated AP/IB contact person for each LEA submitting an application. This person will be responsible for corresponding with TEA regarding the application and payment.
• An accounting/budget representative from each LEA who will be responsible for ensuring the TTR funds are received and correspond with TEA on direct deposit issues, if needed.
• The district name and county district number (CDN) which will receive the TTR funds.
• The campus name and county district campus number (CDCN) where each eligible teacher will be teaching in the 2018-2019 school year.
• Each eligible teacher’s name and TEA-assigned Unique Identification Number (Unique ID). If teachers’ Unique IDs are not known, LEAs must coordinate with their district’s PEIMS Coordinator to determine the correct Unique IDs.
• The type of course (i.e., Pre-AP/an equivalent course, Pre-IB/MYP, IB, AP) and course name (e.g., AP Biology) that will be taught by each eligible teacher in the 2018-2019 school year.*
• The name of the training provider (e.g., AP Summer Institute, Texas IB Schools) and name of the training course (e.g., AP Summer Institute in Biology for New Teachers) taken by each eligible teacher.
• The total cost of tuition for each training. This should only reflect the cost of tuition and should not include costs related to travel or meals/lodging. 
• Campuses/districts are not required to submit a copy of each teacher's certificate of training completion to TEA. However, copies of training certificates should be kept on file at the campus/district.

*Pre-AP, Pre-IB, and equivalent advanced courses must be approved by the local district as courses that are offered in grades 6-12, go beyond the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in depth and complexity, are appropriately rigorous to prepare students to be successful in AP and/or IB courses, and are a part of a vertically aligned series of courses that ends with a specific approved AP/IB course.

Application Due Date: Applications must be submitted through the Qualtrics online application by Friday, November 2, 2018. For more information on submitting the application, see the "How to Apply" section of this webpage.

How to Expect Payment: TTR funds will be dispersed through a direct deposit to each LEA. LEAs are responsible for determining how the funds are allocated after receipt. An email will be sent by TEA prior to the direct deposit indicating each approved teacher’s name and TTR amount, as well as the total amount each LEA will be receiving. The email will be sent to the AP/IB contact, accounting/budget contact, and superintendent contact, as designated on the application.

How Much Payment to Receive: TEA will reimburse up to $450 for each eligible teacher’s training tuition and will not reimburse costs associated with food, lodging, or travel. If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the available funds, TEA may reimburse less than $450 per teacher.

When to Expect Payment: The application released in September 2018 will contain information regarding anticipated payment dates.

TEA is committed to providing incentives for teachers to attend trainings for the improvement of AP and IB course instruction. For information or assistance, please email CCMP@tea.texas.gov. 

Additional Guidelines for Teacher Training Reimbursements

In accordance with TEC §28.053(d) (1)-(3)(e-f)) and TAC §74.26, funding priority for teacher training reimbursements will be given to:

1. Public school campuses that do not offer AP or IB courses.
2. Eligible teachers at campuses that offer new AP/IB programs in the 2018-2019 school year, including IB candidate schools.

Any remaining TTR funds will be distributed evenly among all remaining eligible teachers. Please note that the amount of the reimbursement for this priority will not be known until all reimbursement applications have been received and approved. The 2018 TTR will not exceed $450 per eligible teacher. 

A teacher may receive the TTR once every two years. For example, a teacher who received a reimbursement for 2017 TTR is not eligible for 2018 TTR.

The application process will begin in September of each school year.