HB3 grants districts local control and flexibility in developing a teacher designation system through a process that requires significant planning, stakeholder engagement, and communication prior to implementation. The first school year a district collects teacher effectiveness data in accordance with their local designation plan is called the data capture year. The teacher effectiveness data collected during the data capture year will be reviewed as part of the district approval process. TIA currently operates in a cohort structure with variable approval categories. There is one cohort application cycle in a given year.

Data collected is evaluated under the appropriate cohort framework and submitted in October to Texas Tech University for validation through a series of validity and reliability checks. These checks ensure the district’s data is positively correlated across specified metrics. It also compares the data from all districts participating in TIA with one another to provide statewide validity and reliability measures for the LDS. Killeen ISD's first data capture was the 2021-2022 school year. 

TEA reviews all data and, if final approval is granted, teachers are awarded the designation recommended by the district. Teacher incentives are then sent to the district in May, with distribution of funds to occur by August 31. 

For teachers to obtain a designation in Killeen ISD's local designation system, teachers must meet the requirements outlined below: