🟡Relating to prohibiting certain personal services performed by school district administrators; providing a civil penalty
HB 3372
🟡 HB 3372: Local Boards Can Approve Administrator Side Contracts
What it says it does:
HB 3372 claims to stop school district administrators from receiving outside pay from companies that do business with their district or with other school districts, charters, or education vendors. It sets a civil penalty of ten thousand dollars for violations.
What it actually changes:
The bill repeals the old requirement that superintendents get side contracts approved in open meetings. It replaces that with a rule that allows most administrators, except superintendents and trustees, to take paid work with vendors or other districts if their school board approves it and declares no conflict. Those contracts are only subject to public disclosure if someone requests them under the Public Information Act.
Who is pushing for it:
Support in the files came from administrator and board associations, including the Texas Council of Administrators of Special Education, the Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association, the Texas Association of School Boards, and the education consulting company Solution Tree. These groups testified or registered on the bill.
Who benefits:
Education vendors gain access to experienced administrators for paid consulting and training work. Administrator associations keep flexibility for members to earn income outside their districts. School boards gain the power to approve or deny these contracts at their own discretion.
Who gets left out or exposed:
Teachers, parents, and local taxpayers lose guaranteed transparency. Open-meeting approvals are gone, and public oversight depends on someone knowing to request records. Smaller districts where boards and administrators work closely may face higher risk of unchecked conflicts.
Why this matters long term:
HB 3372 shifts ethical oversight from a clear statewide rule to local board discretion. It creates a pathway where conflicts of interest can still occur under official approval. This structure can normalize insider contracting and weaken public trust in how school funds are managed.
What to watch next:
Whether boards post contract approvals publicly or keep them buried. Whether the state ever scales penalties to contract value or adds independent review. And whether similar carveouts appear in other ethics or procurement bills next session.
Bottom line:
HB 3372 began as an anti-corruption reform but ended as a permission system. It gives school boards the power to approve the very conflicts it claimed to prevent, leaving real accountability up to who is watching.
#HB3372 #TexasPolicy #SchoolEthics #PublicTransparency #WatchTheRules