Short answer
How do Cy-Fair ISD teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Cy-Fair has one column, not several. Classroom teachers move down 41 experience steps, 0 to 40 years. A completed master's adds a stipend at the teacher's step, and a doctorate adds a larger one; the district pays either, never both. Partial graduate-level hours earn nothing. Prior-experience records are due by May 1 of the hiring year.
Source: Compensation, Cy-Fair ISD Human Resources. Checked .
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How is the Cy-Fair ISD teacher salary schedule organized?
The district publishes the schedule as a table on its Human Resources compensation page, headed "Hiring Schedule for Classroom Teachers As Defined by TEC Sec.5.001." That statute defines a classroom teacher as an educator who teaches in an academic or career and technology setting for an average of at least four hours a day, so the table covers that group specifically.
Each row pairs years of experience with a step: zero years is Step 1 and 40 years is Step 41. The zero-year row is split in two, uncertified and certified, because House Bill 2 now requires certified beginning teachers to start above uncertified ones. Four money columns run across each row:
- the 2026-27 annual salary;
- a CFISD Allotment, which fills the first three rows (zero to two years);
- a State Allotment, which begins at three years;
- and the combined 2026-27 annual total.
Nothing on the table changes with education. To find your pay, locate your experience row and read the total, then add the degree stipend if you qualify. Our explainer on reading a salary schedule covers the general method.
Do graduate-level hours raise pay at Cy-Fair ISD?
Only when they finish a degree. The compensation page states that classroom teachers with a master's degree receive a stipend added "to the base schedule at the appropriate experience level," and that those with a doctorate receive a larger one. A note under the table settles the overlap question: "Individuals are eligible to receive either the master's or the doctorate stipend, but not both."
Put in practical terms, a teacher at Step 12 with a bachelor's plus 24 graduate-level hours is paid exactly what a colleague at Step 12 with no extra coursework earns. When the same teacher completes a master's, the stipend attaches at Step 12 and rides along as the teacher moves down the schedule. Finishing a doctorate later replaces the master's stipend with the doctorate stipend rather than stacking on it.
The district's Career Advancement page points teachers to graduate resources, including master's cohorts offered through universities that partner with CFISD, and to CFISD-approved professional learning. Those listings are information, not a guarantee that any program qualifies for the stipend; the district decides. For the wider trade-off between a degree and loose credits, see master's degree or credits.
Does Cy-Fair ISD require approval before you take a course?
No salary pre-approval process appears on the compensation page, the New Hire FAQ or the 2026-27 Employee Handbook, which fits a system where individual courses do not affect pay. Review happens at the credential level. The New Hire FAQ says recommendations for hire are conditional on Human Resources review of the application, certification, transcripts and references, with final approval once the file is complete. Questions about the stipend go to the Human Resources compensation office listed on the same page.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
The one firm date Cy-Fair publishes is for experience. According to the New Hire FAQ, service records must reach Human Resources no later than May 1 of the school year in which you are hired, and salary credit for Texas or out-of-state experience is not granted until the original records arrive and are verified. Out-of-state, nursing and speech pathology experience need extra forms.
Once records are in, the FAQ says to expect the pay change within two to three pay cycles, though processing times vary across the year. None of the district pages checked for this guide gives a separate filing date for degree documentation, so ask Human Resources how and when to submit a newly conferred degree. Our article on transcript deadlines explains how districts usually handle that timing.
Do the same units count toward Texas license renewal?
Yes. Coursework that never reaches a degree still has value at renewal. A Texas classroom teacher needs 150 CPE hours each five-year cycle under 19 TAC §232.11, and the rule converts one semester credit hour from an accredited institution into 15 CPE hours, so ten semester hours equal the full requirement. Read the Texas renewal rules before counting hours, and use the Texas guide to compare districts.
Where can Cy-Fair ISD teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Cy-Fair ISD included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: license renewal, an added endorsement or a degree program. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Cy-Fair ISD's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
Cy-Fair ISD pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a Cy-Fair ISD salary on their own (see units that count). Where graduate-level units still help is license renewal, explained in the renewal section, and any other purpose Cy-Fair ISD or Texas names in writing.
| Question | What Cy-Fair ISD says | What to look for on the provider's site |
|---|---|---|
| Type of unit | Cy-Fair ISD: Completed degrees only; master's or doctorate stipend, not both | Semester or quarter units, graduate-level or not, and the university named on the transcript and its accreditor |
| Grade | See units that count | Letter grade or pass/fail on the transcript |
| Deadline | Cy-Fair ISD: May 1; service records, school year hired | Published grading and transcript-posting time, and any rush option |
| Approval | Cy-Fair ISD: None published; HR reviews transcripts at hire | Course descriptions or syllabi you can attach to an approval form |
| Price | Not set by the district | All-in price per credit, including any university or first-course fee (compare) |
Graduate-level credit providers, listed with the same facts
For renewal, or for a future move to a district that pays for units, many providers issue graduate-level units through accredited universities. Providers listed on this site, each with the same facts:
- Teacher Friendly: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $336 first course for 3 credits (price notes)
- Credits for Educators: self-paced online, units through University of the Pacific; $297 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Fresno Pacific University CE: self-paced, up to 1 year, units through Fresno Pacific University; ≈$475 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Graduate Credit Courses: self-paced, units through Cal Poly Humboldt; $570 for 3 credits (price notes)
- Model Teaching: self-paced, 1 year, units through a choice of six universities, including University of the Pacific; $359 for 3 credits (price notes)
- PD Courses (University of La Verne): online or pdf, semester-based, units through University of La Verne; $420 for 3 credits (price notes)
The provider directory lists 28 providers and programs by what teachers need them for, and Compare sets published prices for 16 of them side by side, with transcripts from 11 universities. A listing on this site does not mean Cy-Fair ISD has approved a provider or course; only the district can do that. TeacherPayGuide has commercial relationships with some providers it lists; how listings work.
Cy-Fair ISD salary questions teachers ask
Can a Cy-Fair teacher get both the master's and doctorate stipends?
No. The compensation page says individuals are eligible for either the master's or the doctorate stipend, but not both.
Does Cy-Fair pay anything for graduate-level hours short of a degree?
No. The hiring schedule pays by experience, and the only education add-ons are the master's and doctorate stipends for completed degrees.
When are service records due at Cy-Fair ISD?
By May 1 of the school year you were hired. Credit is not granted until the original records are received and verified, and the pay change usually follows within two to three pay cycles.
Who counts as a classroom teacher on the Cy-Fair schedule?
An educator who teaches in an academic or career and technology setting for an average of at least four hours a day, the definition in Texas Education Code §5.001 that heads the table.
Where can Cy-Fair ISD teachers take graduate-level courses for license renewal?
Cy-Fair ISD does not raise pay for units short of a degree, so check the renewal rules on this page and confirm with human resources or the state agency before you enroll. Providers that teachers compare include Teacher Friendly, Credits for Educators, Fresno Pacific University CE, Graduate Credit Courses, Model Teaching and PD Courses (University of La Verne). They differ in format, transcript university, grading time and price; the provider directory and the Compare page list 16 providers with the same facts for each.
Sources
- Compensation: Hiring Schedule for Classroom Teachers 2026-27, Cy-Fair ISD Human Resources. Checked
- New Hire FAQ, Cy-Fair ISD Human Resources. Checked
- Employee Handbook 2026-2027, Cy-Fair ISD. Checked
- Career Advancement, Cy-Fair ISD Human Resources. Checked
- 19 TAC Chapter 232, Subchapter A, §232.11, Texas Education Agency. Checked
Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error