Who is Eligible?

Designation eligibility is a 2-year process. Teachers must be employed and compensated in PfISD for a creditable year of service at an eligible campus, in an eligible teaching position, teaching an eligible course and meeting all TEA requirements, to be eligible for a designation.

Eligible teachers for both the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 cohort for new or higher designations include the following teaching positions across all PfISD campuses (with the exception of OC).

Core Content Teachers:

• ESCE and Prekindergarten (3-year olds & 4-year olds)
• Kindergarten - 8th grade (math, RLA)
• Science (5th & 8th grade, Biology)
• Social Studies (8th grade, U.S. History
• Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry
• English I, English II, English III, English IV

Intervention & Newcomer Teachers of all subjects listed above

Special Education Teachers:

• Inclusion/Resource of all subjects listed above
• Providers of Dyslexia Instruction (PDI) (all grades)
• Social Communication Support (K-2)
• Essential Academics (math and RLA grades 4-5)
• Communications (math and RLA grades 4-5)
• Secondary Functional Academics (previously Essential Academics and Communications) (math and RLA grades 6-8, Algebra I, English I, English II)

Additionally, the teacher must teach an eligible course as detailed in the PfISD TIA Guidebook (accessible to PfISD staff).

If the above eligibility criteria are met, the following teachers are also included:

• Teachers with an intern or probationary certificate (non-certified). In PfISD, this includes Teacher Facilitators who are assigned to teaching positions while they work to obtain certification.
• Teachers who are currently designated at the Recognized or Exemplary level, including NBCTs, to be considered for a higher designation level.

 

Teachers must remain employed in PfISD from the Data Capture Year through the last Friday of February of the following school year and meet all requirements in the chart below to be eligible for a new or higher designation. Once designated, requirements must continue to be met each school year of the 5-year designation period, including continued employment in a PfISD teaching position into each upcoming school year, to continue to be eligible to receive a TIA stipend from PfISD, as follows: 

 

The PfISD TIA Leadership Team continuously explores potential options for expanding eligibility to new teacher groups.