Texas now pays school districts to train their own teachers. Under House Bill 2 (2025), the Preparing and Retaining Educators through Partnership (PREP) allotment gives $24,000 to $39,500 for each teacher resident and $8,000 to $12,000 for each employee in a Grow Your Own program, through school finance formulas rather than a competitive grant.
This chapter is for district and charter leaders deciding whether to start a residency or Grow Your Own program, or expand one, before the December 1, 2026 application deadline for 2027-28.
What residencies and Grow Your Own programs are
A teacher residency blends "a rigorous full-year classroom experience for pre-service teachers while completing an SBEC approved educator preparation program," according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) (opens in a new tab). Residents co-teach alongside a host teacher, take over instruction for part of the year, and finish with an enhanced standard teaching certificate. They are paid district employees, but never the teacher of record.
A Grow Your Own (GYO) program helps people already in your community become teachers. House Bill 2 defines two pathways in Texas Education Code §21.906: high school students taking career and technical education courses that prepare them to teach, and "district or school employees who do not hold a teaching certificate" completing a bachelor's degree while they keep working for you. For PREP funding, TEA requires the employee pathway; the high school pathway is optional.
Paraprofessionals, substitutes and other uncertified staff are the natural GYO candidates: they already know your students, your campuses and your expectations. Career changers who already hold a degree fit a different PREP program, the alternative preservice route, which pays from 2027-28.
What the PREP allotment pays
PREP is part of the Foundation School Program, so every Texas school system can earn it. TEA calls it "not a grant." The amounts per participant come from HB 2's enrolled text (opens in a new tab), Texas Education Code §48.157:
| Program | Per participant | Cap per district | First funded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residency preservice | $24,000 to $39,500 | 40 residents | 2026-27 |
| Grow Your Own | $8,000 to $12,000 | 40 employees | 2026-27 |
| Mentorship | $3,000 per beginning teacher | 40 | 2026-27 |
| Traditional and alternative preservice | $10,000 to $21,500 | 80 combined | 2027-28 |
Source: Texas Education Code §48.157 and TEA's PREP overview. Districts with more than 40 residents can fund up to 80 more at the traditional preservice level.
Where you land in each range depends on your campuses. A residency starts at $24,000 and adds a "high needs and rural factor" of up to 4.0 times $3,000, plus $2,000 for each resident seeking bilingual or special education certification. Grow Your Own starts at $8,000 and adds the same factor times $1,000. High-need and rural campuses earn the most.
In the first year, 197 school systems entered at least one resident and 128 entered at least one GYO participant, according to the same TEA table.
Paraprofessionals and substitutes already know your students and your campuses. Grow Your Own pays to make them teachers.