Processing Administrator Requests for Outside Employment

House Bill (HB) 3372 of the 89th Texas Regular Legislative Session added new restrictions on certain administrators’ performance of outside employment.

Employees whose primary role is in-class instruction are not subject to these restrictions.

Restrictions

Texas Education Code (TEC) § 11.006 prohibits employees with significant administrative duties related to the operations of a campus, program, or other part of the district from performing personal services or receiving any financial benefit for the performance of personal services for any business entity that conducts or solicits business with the district that employs the administrator. An administrator may not be excepted from this prohibition by board vote.

Administrators are also prohibited from performing personal services or receiving financial benefits for performing personal services for:

• An education business that provides services regarding the curriculum or administration of any school district
• Another school district, open enrollment charter school, regional education service center, or public or private institute of higher education

An administrator who is not a superintendent, assistant superintendent, or member of a board of managers may be excepted from this prohibition if the board approves as described below.

Exception for Certain Personal Services with Board Approval

To request an exception for the prohibition against receiving financial benefits, an administrator must provide the board of trustees with a copy of the written contract describing the services to be performed.

The board must vote to approve the contract after determining that:

• The contract will not harm the district;
• The arrangement doesn’t present a conflict of interest; and
• The services will be performed by the administrator entirely on the administrator’s personal time.

TEC § 11.006(d) specifies that the contract provided to the board is subject to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act.

Penalties

The penalty for violating the prohibition is significant. An administrator who violates the outside employment prohibition could be subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 for each violation. As a result, it may be prudent for an administrator to consult with the administrator’s own attorney to avoid the significant penalty prior to seeking board approval.

HR's Role

HR’s role in the process should be limited to facilitating the placement of an administrator’s request for an exception on the board agenda as a consent item.