Texas House Bill HB 3372

Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

• Filed: 2/26/25
• Out of House Committee: 5/6/25
• Voted on by House: 5/15/25
• Out of Senate Committee: 5/26/25
• Voted on by Senate: 5/27/25
• Governor Action: 6/22/25

Caption

Relating to prohibiting certain personal services performed by school district administrators; providing a civil penalty.

Summary

HB 3372 creates a new Education Code section restricting certain school district administrators from receiving financial benefits for personal services performed for entities that do business with their employing district, for education businesses that provide curriculum or administrative services, or for other school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, or regional education service centers. The bill defines “administrator” broadly to include personnel with significant administrative duties, but excludes classroom instructors and school district trustees. The bill allows a limited exception for administrators other than board members, superintendents, and assistant superintendents to perform outside services for education businesses or other districts if they disclose the arrangement in writing to their board of trustees, and the board approves it after finding no harm to the district, no conflict of interest, and that the work will be done entirely on personal time. These contracts are made subject to public disclosure under the Public Information Act. A violation carries a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation, and the bill repeals a related existing Education Code provision.

Impact

HB 3372 adds a new ethics and conflict-of-interest restriction to Texas Education Code Chapter 11, directly affecting school district administrators and the outside entities that hire them. It limits administrators’ ability to moonlight or provide consulting services to vendors, education service providers, and other public education entities when those services could create divided loyalties or financial conflicts. The bill also increases transparency by requiring disclosure of approved contracts and by making them subject to open records laws, while establishing a significant civil penalty for noncompliance.

Sentiment

The voting history suggests broad bipartisan support for the bill. It passed the House and Senate with overwhelming margins, and the conference committee report was adopted by large majorities in both chambers. The lack of committee transcript material limits insight into debate, but the recorded votes indicate the measure was generally viewed favorably and not especially controversial overall.

Contention

The main policy tension in HB 3372 is between preventing conflicts of interest and preserving limited outside professional opportunities for administrators. The bill draws a bright line against paid services for district vendors and most education-related outside work, while carving out a narrow approval process for some administrators. The most sensitive categories are superintendents, assistant superintendents, and board managers, who are excluded from the exception and therefore face stricter limits. Any opposition likely centered on whether the restrictions were too broad or whether the $10,000 civil penalty and disclosure requirements were too punitive, but the vote totals show little sustained resistance.