By Kevin Lungwitz
HB 3372 (soon to be referred to as Texas Education Code Section 11.006) places restraints on your ability to work and make money outside of your employing district. HB 3372 was signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 22, 2025 and went into effect immediately because the bill passed both houses of the Texas Legislature by a sufficiently wide margin. Effective immediately, stop your side-hustle until you determine if you can lawfully continue.
Who Does HB 3372 Apply To?
It applies to “administrators” defined as “a person who has significant administrative duties relating to the operation of a school district, including the operation of a campus, program, or other subdivision of the district.” It is safe to say that it applies to campus principals and assistant principals, as well as superintendents, assistant superintendents, and other central office administrators. It does not apply to teachers or others who primarily provide direct classroom instruction.
What Money-Making Activities Does the Law Restrict?
You may not receive any financial benefit for the performance of personal services for:
- Any business that conducts or solicits business with your employing school district;
- An education business that provides services regarding the curriculum or administration of any school district; or
- Another school district, open-enrollment charter school, or regional education service center.
What is “personal services?” It seems to take aim at educational consulting services and the like. But it includes any kind of personal services you render for a business from which you reap financial gain. Does that include selling on the Internet education-related goods you created, like a book, charts, and other pedagogical aids? Tread carefully.
What is a “business?” Does this apply to the U.I.L.? If so, this law will greatly impact an administrator’s ability to work as a judge or referee for the U.I.L. One Texas appellate court found that the U.I.L. is a governmental entity and is not a business.1 Similarly, is a public community college or public university a “business?” If so, an administrator cannot work for these institutions on the side. But a Texas public community college and public university are creations of the state, run on tax dollars, and are not for profit. It remains to be seen how this will be interpreted.
Are There Exceptions to the Restrictions?
No and yes. There are no exceptions to receiving financial benefit for personal services you perform for any business that conducts or solicits business with your school district. That door is shut.
But yes, you might be able to make money for performing personal services for an education business that provides services to districts other than your own; or for providing services to another school district open-enrollment charter school, or regional education service center; if the following things happen:
- Your contract for personal services is provided to your employing school board;
- Your school board determines that your contract will not harm the district, does not present a conflict of interest, and that your personal services will be provided entirely on your own private time; and
- Your school board approves the contract.
If you have an education-related side-hustle, stop! If an exception might exist, talk to your supervisor or superintendent about how to proceed. A quick Internet search has revealed Texas school boards already considering exceptions to this law, as set out above. For example, in Pflugerville ISD the school board recently considered exceptions for employees who also work for the regional education service center. If your bosses support you, then it can be put before the school board. You will need to draft a “contract” that specifically describes the “personal services” you provide. Your contract for personal services and the board’s action is public information.
Note: The exceptions above do not apply to a superintendent or assistant superintendent. The law repealed a former statute (Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 11.201(e)) that allowed exceptions for a superintendent.
What are the Penalties for a Violation?
“An administrator who violates this section is liable to the State for a civil penalty in the amount of $10,000 for each violation.” The assumption is that this will be enforced by the Texas Education Agency or State Board for Educator Certification. Those entities currently investigate and enforce educator ethics complaints, and they have authority to assess fines against educators for other legal infractions.2
Each line in this new law contains words that need further clarification, but there are no reported experiences or court cases to shed light. So read it carefully and put more than one set of eyes on it. Discuss it with your supervisor or superintendent and see what they say. Document the discussions in an email so you can show your good faith communications. Finally, hire a lawyer if you need specific advice on whether this law applies to you and your side hustle.
Kevin Lungwitz practices law in Austin and is a former Chair of the School Law Section of the State Bar of Texas.
Endnotes
1University Interscholastic League v Southwest Officials Assoc. Inc. 319 S.W. 3d 952 (Tex. App. – Austin 2010, no pet.) The UIL “is required under the education code to act as an arm of the State in carrying out certain education policies (citing Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 33.081(c) et.seq.); and that “The UIL also enjoys greater statutory recognition than [other private entities], given that it is [by law] a part of UT-Austin, which derives its authority directly from the Texas Constitution. See Tex. Const. art. VII, §10.”
2See Tex. Educ. Code Sec. 21.0006 (i)
TEPSA News, September/October, Vol 82, No 5
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Note: Information from Legal Ease is believed to be correct upon publication but is not warranted and should not be considered legal advice. Please contact TEPSA or your school district attorney before taking any legal action, as specific facts or circumstances may cause a different legal outcome.
