My district is telling me I have to be a teacher of record / have a grade book to get the HB 2 raise, but that doesn’t match what I have been hearing about the bill—HELP!  

House Bill (HB) 2 by Rep. Brad Buckley (R–Salado)— the omnibus school finance (plus a lot of other stuff) bill the 89th Legislature passed during the regular session—contains a new statutory definition of the term “teacher of record.” According to a provision on page 18 of the 251-page bill, "teacher of record" means a person employed by a school district who teaches the majority of the instructional day in an academic instructional setting and is responsible for evaluating student achievement and assigning grades.  

When you zoom out, you will find this definition is in the bill language that prohibits assigning uncertified teachers to teach foundation curriculum courses (math, science, social studies, and English language arts). That prohibition, which is found on the page after the definition, specifically references “teachers of record.” It states: “A school district may not employ as a teacher of record for a course in the foundation curriculum under Section 28.002 a person who does not hold an appropriate certificate or permit required by the State Board for Educator Certification under Subchapter B.”  

This makes sense—the Legislature is specifically not limiting auxiliary educators who are also considered classroom teachers, but who are not teachers of record, from being able to provide services to these students should those teachers be uncertified.  

So, does this new “teacher of record” definition affect eligibility for raises under the bill’s Teacher Retention Allotment (TRA)? The short answer is no.  

Unlike the section prohibiting the assignment of uncertified teachers to particular classes, the TRA section of HB 2 specifically provided the raises to "classroom teachers”,certified and uncertified alike. Page 10 of the bill states:

Sec. 48.158.  TEACHER RETENTION ALLOTMENT.  (a) In this section, "classroom teacher" has the meaning assigned by Section 5.001,except that the term also includes:  
(1) a person who is not required to hold a certificate issued under Subchapter B, Chapter 21, who otherwise meets the definition of a classroom teacher under Section 5.001; and  
(2)  a person, including a person described by Subdivision(1), employed by an entity with which a school district has entered into a contract who otherwise meets the definition of a classroom teacher under Section 5.001. 
(b) A school district is entitled to an annual allotment for each classroom teacher who is employed by or contracts with the district for which the allotment is provided as follows …  

This section clearly states that TRA eligibility is based on the definition of “classroom teacher,” which is separate from and not the same as the new definition of “teacher of record.” Under the Texas Education Code, a classroom teacher is defined as: 

[A]n educator who is employed by a school district and who, not less than an average of four hours each day, teaches in an academic instructional setting or a career and technology instructional setting. The term does not include a teacher’s aide or a full-time administrator. 

The “classroom teacher” definition is much broader than the definition of “teacher of record.” Unlike “teacher of record”, “classroom teacher” encompasses many teachers who are not responsible for assigning grades to a class of students.  

The section on the TRA goes on to say: 

For the 2025-2026 school year, a school district shall use money received under Subsection(b) to:  
(1) increase the salary provided to each classroom teacher for which the district is entitled to funding under Subsection (b) for that year over the salary the teacher received or would have received if the teacher was employed by or contracted with the district in the 2024-2025 school year by at least the amount received per classroom teacher under Subsection(b). 

So, while HB 2 does reference and define “teacher of record,” a school district will receive TRA funding for all “classroom teachers,” and that funding may, in practically all cases, only be used to provide raises to classroom teachers in the same amount as the funding received.