Houston Independent School District salary schedule: how teachers move to a higher column

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How is the Houston ISD teacher salary schedule organized?

The compensation plan describes Pay-for-Performance (PFP) in one line that explains the whole design: base salary is assigned to the effectiveness level, "and not the traditional tenure or salary schedule based on creditable years of teaching experience." Rows are effectiveness levels rather than steps. The levels paid in 2026-27 are Unsatisfactory, Progressing I, Progressing II, Proficient I, Proficient II and Exemplary I.

Instead of education columns, the plan prints five pay tables that reflect where and what a teacher teaches:

• PFP Main covers teachers at EAS campuses and Virtual Launchpad teachers, excluding special education.
• NES 1 covers non-core subject teachers at NES campuses.
• NES 2 covers core subject teachers at NES campuses.
• SPED 1 and SPED 2 cover special education inclusion and self-contained teachers, sorted by campus type and setting.

A seventh level, Exemplary II, is coming. The plan says it cannot be earned as a TES rating until 2027-2028, requires two prior years at Exemplary I, and will first be paid in 2028-2029.

Houston was already unusual before PFP. A section on the Teacher Schedule Adjustment, a legacy supplement some long-serving teachers still receive, notes that the district "transitioned to a single salary lane in school year 2014-2015." Degree lanes have been gone for more than a decade, which is why the effectiveness model replaced a single experience ladder rather than a grid. For help with the vocabulary other districts use, see salary lane names.

Certified teachers who worked for HISD in 2024-25 and stayed into 2025-26 have a hold-harmless guarantee for 2026-27 and 2027-28. Their base pay cannot fall below what the 2025-26 traditional schedule would pay, using creditable years counted as of July 1, 2025.

Do graduate-level hours raise pay at Houston ISD?

No. Neither the compensation plan nor the 2026-27 Stipend Business Rules contain a degree stipend or an hours-based increase. The plan reserves stipends and extra-duty pay for "duties performed that are not related to an employee's primary job," and holding a degree is not a duty. A teacher with 36 graduate-level hours past the bachelor's and a teacher with none sit on the same row if they hold the same rating.

What moves pay is the TES rating. HISD's July 31, 2026 explainer gives the components of the summative score: Quality of Instruction at 45 percent, Student Academic Outcomes at 30, Planning & Professionalism at 15 and the Campus Action Plan at 5. Ratings are then ranked district-wide and a target distribution is applied, which the explainer says places 60 percent of teachers at Proficient I or above.

Two timing rules matter. Placement for 2026-27 uses a single rating, the one earned in 2025-26. From 2027-28 on, placement uses the average of the last two TES ratings. A course can still help indirectly if it sharpens the instruction an observer scores, but the district pays for the rating, not the transcript.

Coursework keeps two real uses. It counts toward Texas certificate renewal, covered below, and it can lead to a completed degree that matters if you later move to a district that pays for one. Our article on a master's versus stacked credits works through that choice.

Does Houston ISD require approval before you take a course?

Because no course changes base salary, HISD has no salary pre-approval form for coursework, and none appears in the compensation plan or the stipend rules. The approvals that do exist in the plan concern placement. New teachers with fewer than three years of creditable experience, or without State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) certification, start at Progressing I. Certified new hires with at least three verified years, each with 90 or more days worked, start at Progressing II.

Uncertified teachers must earn full certification within two school years and stay paid at Progressing I until they do, whatever rating they earn. A teacher who gets no TES rating in a year does not advance on experience alone.

When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?

The deadline that matters in Houston is for service records, not transcripts. A new hire claiming prior experience must submit official service records to the Compensation Department through Oracle within 30 business days of the start date. On time, a certified teacher with three or more verified years moves to Progressing II with a retroactive adjustment to the start date. Late records are reviewed and filed but are not accepted for initial level placement.

For returning teachers, the plan sets a placeholder salary at the current year's amount until summer evaluation results arrive. Teachers who rise a level then receive the increase, and the Compensation Department notifies them in writing. A teacher whose level drops keeps actual paid compensation for one more school year before any reduction. Our guide to how lane changes usually work shows what Houston's model replaced.

Do the same units count toward Texas license renewal?

Yes, and for an HISD teacher this is the main payoff of college coursework. Under 19 TAC §232.11, a classroom teacher renews a standard certificate with 150 continuing professional education (CPE) hours every five years, and the rule turns every college semester hour from an accredited school into 15 of those hours. One three-hour graduate-level course supplies 45. The Texas renewal rules explain record-keeping and the audit process, and the Texas guide compares other districts.

Where can Houston ISD teachers earn graduate-level units?

Every district, Houston 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 Houston ISD's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.

Houston ISD pays by completed degree, certificate level or rating rather than by units, so courses short of a degree do not change a Houston 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 Houston ISD or Texas names in writing.

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)
• CE Credits Online: self-paced, 180 days, units through Valley City State, Augustana, Adams State or Cal Poly Humboldt; from $449 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Connected Classroom Courses: self-paced, letter grade, units through CSU Pueblo; $389 + university fee for 3 credits (price notes)
• Credits for Teachers: self-paced, 6 months, units through Valley City State, Adams State, UMass Global or CSU Pueblo; from $349 for 3 credits (price notes)
• Dominican CA Online: self-paced, units through Dominican University of California; $477 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 Houston 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.

Sources

1. 2026-2027 HISD Compensation Plan (revised July 27, 2026), Houston ISD. Checked November 11, 2026
2. Compensation Plan page, Houston ISD. Checked November 11, 2026
3. Pay-for-Performance Guidebook (April 28, 2026 update), Houston ISD. Checked November 11, 2026
4. HISD's new pay-for-performance model, explained (July 31, 2026), HISD NOW. Checked November 11, 2026
5. Stipend Business Rules, Changes & Submission Guidance 2026-27, Houston ISD. Checked November 11, 2026
6. 19 TAC Chapter 232, Subchapter A, §232.11, Texas Education Agency. Checked November 11, 2026

Reviewed November 11, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error