Calculating Military Service for Salary Increment Purposes

The United States military is one of the entities recognized for years of service in 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §153.1021 for professional personnel.

Navigating this type of service may be difficult and often results in school districts and charter schools reaching out to TASB HR Services for assistance.

Minimum Requirements

For service to count as creditable, it must first meet the minimum requirements as listed below.

• All service shall be based on the contractual year of July 1 to June 30 if it occurred after the 1983–1984 school year or September 1 to August 31 if prior to the 1983–1984 school year.
• No more than one year of experience may be acquired in any contractual year.
• The service record and any other documents provided must meet the requirements for such records.
• The service must meet the minimum number of days required to earn and receive credit as indicated in Figure: 19 TAC §153.1021(f).

Military Service Analyzed

For US military service to be considered creditable, the individual had to be serving as a professional employee of any entity recognized for creditable service within 12 months prior to entry into active duty. The individual is required to include form DD-214 or other official discharge papers with the service record showing the following:

• Military service was in the capacity of an enlisted man or woman or commissioned office
• Release or separation of active duty was under honorable conditions
• Dates of entry and release from active duty

Additionally, the service is creditable if the individual was on active duty from September 1, 1940, through August 31, 1947, or September 1, 1950, through August 31, 1954, or if outside of this time range the following criteria were met:

• Military service was a result of involuntary induction into active duty
• Military service was a result of voluntary active duty for the first time and such initial period of voluntary service claimed as years of service for teacher salary increments does not exceed four years

The individual must serve a minimum of four-and-one-half months for a year of service to be considered creditable.

Helpful Checklist

Below is a simple four question checklist to assist a school district or charter school in evaluating military service for salary increment purposes.

• What is the initial date of military enlistment?
• Was the individual employed as a professional in an entity recognized for creditable service within 12 months immediately preceding military service?
• Was the service for at least 4.5 months?
• Did the individual provide documentation (e.g., DD-214) of honorable discharge?

Learning Opportunities and Other Resources

• HR Services offers a Service Record Management workshop. 
• Our Service Record Management webinar also is available for individuals who are responsible for evaluating new hire service records.

Following is a list of HRX articles written on the topic of service records or creditable years of service.

• Service Record Support Available
• Q&A: Teacher Service Records
• Creditable Years of Service Reviewed
• Myths: Teacher Service Records
• Crediting and Recording Military Service
• Substitute Teaching Experience and Creditable Years of Service
• Creditable Experience for Paraprofessionals Transitioning to a Teaching Role