Educator Incentive Programs
Overview
Utah has some educator incentive programs to support educators serving in particular school settings, assignments, or with specific credentials. The program policies are found below as well as additional information on each of the tabs.
Salary Supplement for Highly Needed Educators (SHiNE)
The SHiNE Program was established by the Utah Legislature and Utah State Board of Education (USBE) to allow individual local education agencies (LEAs) to determine which teaching areas are highly needed in their schools. This program replaced the Teacher Salary Supplement Program (TSSP) in the 2025-2026 school year.
Title: 53F-2-504: Salary Supplement for Highly Needed Educators
Utah State Legislature
Salary Supplement for National Board-certified Teachers (SSNBCT)
Per 2026 HB 3 (Item 416), the Utah State Legislature discontinued this program. Teacher bonuses for the 2025-2026 school year will not be paid. USBE will reimburse or pre-pay any remaining components for teachers who are already approved. USBE will not reimburse or pre-pay for any NCBT Certification renewals beginning March 1, 2026.
USBE may not accept any applications for reimbursement or pre-payment unless you were approved prior to March 1, 2026.
Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools (ETHPS)
The ETHPS was established by the Utah Legislature to reward and retain qualified educators who are employed in a high poverty school and show a Median Growth Percentile (MGP) of 70 or higher in a course for which a standards assessment is administered or teach grades Kindergarten, 1, 2, or 3 and achieve at least 85% of students whose progress is assessed as typical or better.
Title 53F-2-513: Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program - Salary
bonus - Evaluation
Utah State Legislature
R277-925: Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program
Utah State Board of Education Administrative Rules
Contact
For questions and additional information, please contact the Program Specialist at eip@schools.utah.gov.
Salary Supplement for Highly Needed Educators (SHiNE)
In the 2024 General Session, Utah State Code 53F-2-504 created the Salary Supplement for Highly Needed Educators (SHiNE) program. This program replaced the Teacher Salary Supplement Program (TSSP) in the 2025-2026 school year. The intent of the bill is to allow individual LEAs to determine which teaching areas are highly needed in their schools. A highly needed educator means a teacher who is filling a position that is challenging to fill or retain. Funds will be allocated to LEAs based on student enrollment count and disbursed to LEAs in a lump sum.
Educators must contact their school district or charter school for SHiNE information and application.
LEA Resources:
SHiNE LEA High Needs Areas Report
Contact
For questions and additional information, please contact the Program Specialist at eip@schools.utah.gov.
Salary Supplement for National Board-certified Teachers (SSNBCT)
Program Discontinued March 2026
Per 2026 HB 3 (Item 416), the Utah State Legislature discontinued this program. Teacher bonuses for the 2025-2026 school year will not be paid. USBE will reimburse or pre-pay any remaining components for teachers who are already approved. USBE will not reimburse or pre-pay for any NCBT Certification renewals beginning March 1, 2026.
USBE may not accept any applications for reimbursement or pre-payment unless you were approved prior to March 1, 2026.
SSNBCT Program Frequently Asked Questions Educator/Applicant
SSNBCT Program Frequently Asked Questions LEA Administrator
If you are looking for professional learning resources, the National Board offers the following:
For assistance through the National Board certification process and to join the Utah National Board Coalition (UNBC), please contact them at UtahNBCT@gmail.com. The UNBC offers a MIDAS cohort course (#62537) to assist candidates through the certification process. Please contact them for information and questions.
Contact
For questions and additional information, please contact the Program Specialist at eip@schools.utah.gov.
Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools (ETHPS)
The ETHPS was established by the Utah Legislature to reward and retain qualified educators who are employed in a high poverty school and show a Median Growth Percentile (MGP) of 70 or higher in a course for which a standards assessment is administered or teach grades Kindergarten, 1, 2, or 3 and achieve at least 85% of students whose progress is assessed as typical or better.
ETHPS Frequently Asked Questions Local Education Agency (LEA) Administrators
ETHPS Frequently Asked Questions Teachers
School Year (SY) 2025-2026
Contact
For questions and additional information, please contact the Program Specialist at eip@schools.utah.gov.
Teacher Salary Supplement Program (TSSP)
The 2024-2025 school year was the final funding opportunity under TSSP. The Utah Legislature created the new Salary Supplement for Highly Needed Educators (SHiNE) Program in the 2024 session that went into effect July 1, 2025. Please refer to the SHiNE tab for information.