New State Law Prohibits School Board Trustees from Conducting Business with School District They Serve on Board
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2025
The 89th Texas Legislature enacted a new state law, House Bill 210, that prohibits a public school board trustee or that of a charter school from conducting or receiving any business contract from the district or charter school they serve on their board or by a related individual who has a contract to do business with the district or charter school has a substantial interest in the vendor and is related in the second degree by consanguinity or affinity to the trustee.
House Bill 210 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 29, 2025, but did not take effect until September 1, 2025, causing school districts and charter schools to review their contracts with trustees or related individuals to the trustees in the second degree by consanguinity or affinity.
The Eagle Pass Independent School District is no exception and is subject to the new state law, House Bill 280. As a matter of fact, Texas Education Agency (TEA) Region 20 representatives from San Antonio, Texas conducted a briefing to the Eagle Pass Independent School District in September 2025 to advise them of this new law, as well as other new laws enacted in the 89th Texas Legislative Session.
House Bill 210 provides that “a vendor that bids on or receives a contract from a school district commits an offense if any individual serving on the board of trustees of the school district: 1) has a substantial interest in the vendor; or 2) is related in the second degree by consanguinity or affinity,…is an individual who has a substantial interest in the vendor.”
HB 210 further provides “An individual has a substantial interest in a vendor if the individual: 1) owns more than 10 percent of the voting interest in the vendor; or 2) has a direct or indirect participating interest by shares, stock, or otherwise, regardless of whether voting rights are included, in more than 10 percent of the profits, proceeds, or capital gains of the vendor.”
HB 210 further states that: “An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor, except that a second offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, a third offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor, and a fourth or subsequent offense under this section is a state jail felony.”
HB 210 concludes that “any offense under this section is a state jail felony if the vendor directly compensated the individual serving on the school district’s board of trustees as consideration for the district entering into a contract with the vendor. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.”
The Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees and Administration have been placed on notice of the new state law House Bill 210 by TEA Region 20.
In the past, one or more board of trustees of the Eagle Pass Independent School District have enjoyed doing business with the district. However, this practice has been terminated effective September 1, 2025 by the passage of HB 210.
