Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion

The Attorney General of Texas Aquet 14, 1985 JIM MAllOX Attorney General Suprem Court Building Eooorable Carl A. Parker opinion No. JM-340 P.0. BOX12548 cheirmall Aurtln. TX. 70711- 2548 Education Committc:e: Re: Whether a grievance hearing 512l47%?m Texas State Senetc! is open to the public under eer- 1d.X 9101874.1367 P. 0. Box 12068, Cepitol Station tale circumstances and related lelecoplrr 5lY47502ea Austin, Texas 711711 questions 714 Jackson. Suite 700 Dear Senator Parkm: cwllos. TX. 75202.4506 2W742-8944 You ask whether the Open Meetings Law required au Alamo Comunlty College District grlwance committee to diacuaa e terminated 4824 Alberta Ave.. Sulle 100 employee’s grievewe in open session. You also ask whether the El Paso, TX. 799052793 chancellor could order persona to leave the premises of the district - 9lW533.3.484 headquarters. Newspaper clippings which you have submftted describe the circumstances Iof the grievance coxmittee hearing. 1001 T.Yxas. Suite 700 Houston. TX. 77002-3111 On March 29, 1985. a grievance conmlttee met to hear a grievance 713/222-5886 filed by a dlatrfct secretary who had been terminated. The cormnittee vae appointed according to the folloving procedure of the Alaeo Community College ‘District: W6 Broadway, Suite 312 Lubbock. TX. 794014479 806/747-3238 The three-member grievantie coxmittee shall be ad hoc. Its members shall be appointed by the President (or Chancellor, as appropriate) from a 4399 N. Tenth. Suits B list of six or more employeea agreed upon by (a) McAllen, TX. 78501.1685 512/682-4547 the appropriate Vice President or Director of Buainew Services (for college employees) or Vice Chancel.lor (for District exployeea) and (b) the 200 Main Plus. Suite 400 elected head of the appropriate employee group or San Antonio. TX. 78205-2797 (when the grievant is an administrator) an ACCD 512l225-4191 eeployc:r designated by the committee from an elected or appointed pool, so long as the pool is An Equal Opportunityl large enough to ensure that a small number of Attirmative Action Employer employws are not asked to ~serve repeatedly. Persow involved in the grievance process are excludartl . The grievance po:L:Lcy states as follows: P 4. Within five (5) days after receiving the grievfcxe committee’s recommendation. the p. 1548 - \ -I Honorable Carl A. Parker - PIIS~ 2 (311-340) , President (or Chancellor, for District office employees) must communicate his or her decision in vritlng to the involved parties. College employees may appeal the Prealdent’ o decision to the Chancellor c’s his/her designee. A final appeal may be made to the Board of Trustees and must be filed vlthin ten (10) days following the last level of appeal. At the Board’s discretion, such an appeal msy be handled either through a review of the griwance record or through a formal hearing. The final decision will be cmnicated in vriting to the involved parties vlthin five (5) days after the Bod%rdcompletes ite deliberations. Alamo District Policy Manua:L, What’s What, Policy No. IV 4-29. When the grievance ccmmlttee convened the March 29 hearing at 9:00 a.m., two reporters from the San Antonio College student newspaper were present. The reporters had spoken to the employee about attending the hearing and she did not object to their presence. The chancellor’s special assistant told the reporters that the hearing was closed. They attempted twice more to attend, without success. The chancellor ultimately c;alled the campus police who arrived after x the students had left the hearing room and were waiting outside the building for it to end. Campus police ordered them to leave the premises and filed dieordexly conduct complaints against them. The Open Meetings Act applies to meetings of a “governmental body” defined as follows: (c) ‘Governmental body’ means [l] any board, commission, department. committee. or agency vithin the executive or legislative department of the at&e, which Is under the direction of one or more elected or appointed members; and (21 every CommIssionera Court and ctty council in the state, and every dellberatlve body having rule-making or quasi-judicial power and clasalfied as a depart- ment, agency, or political subdivision of a county or city; [3] anli the board of trustees of every school district,- and every county board of school trustees and countv board of education: [41 and the governing boaid of every special- district heretofore or hereafter created by law. (Emphasis added; numerals [ll. 121. [31. I41 added). V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, )l(c:). This definition is in four parts. See generally Attorney General Opinion H-467 (1974). The first part gives _, criteria for determining v’hich state level entities are governmental p. 1549 gonorable Carl A. Parher - Page 3 (JM-340) bodies. See generally Attorney General Opinion8 g-994 (1977); E-772 (1976); R-450, R-438. H-246 ((1974); R-3 (1973). The remainder of the definition liars apecif ic local governmental entitles. See generally Attorney General Opinions W-174 (1980) ; B-1281 (1978); g-554. E-496 (1975); g-450 (1974). A comnity college district la a political subdivision. Attorney General Opinion M-707 (1970). The legislature has named such Institutions “conxsunity colleges” because they “seme their com- munities not only through university-parallel programs but also by means of occupational programs and other programs of community interest and need.” Educ:. Code Il30.005. A community college district board of trustees is governed by the law pertaining to independent school districts, Insofar as it is applicable. Educ. Code 1130.084. Noreover , comrunity college districts are “school districts” within article 1’1.1, section 3 of the Texas Constitution, which authorizes school d:lstricta to levy and collect ad valorem taxes. Shepherd v. San Ja$nto Junior College District. 363 S.W.2d 742 (Tex. 1963); see Educ. Code 0130.005 (junior colleges renamed community colleges). In c,ur opinion. the trustees of a community college district are truatoea of a “school district” within section 1 (c) of the Open Meetings Act. See also V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17. Q3A(b), (e) (notice provisj,ona) . Thus, the board of trustees of the Alamo Community College District is a governmental body within the act. Prior opinions eatablkh that an entity will be covered by the Open Meetings Act if it is a “governmental body” which holds “meetings.” as those tenw are defined in the act. See Attorney General Opinions H-994 (1’3’17); H-772 (1976); R-438 (1974). These opinions consider vhether the entity in question is described by the express language of the definitions. Thus, a state-level entity will be a governmental body within the act if it is “vithin the executive or legislative department 3:E the state” and “under the direction of one or more elected or ,q?pointed members.” See, e.g., Attorney General Opinions E-994 (1!)?7) ; E-772 (1976); E-438 (1974). For a local level entity to be a “governmental body” within the act, it must be expressly included in the list of governmental bodies which comprises the second branch of the definition. V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, 51(c). That list names several specific governmental bodies. It also establishes criteria for identifying deliberative bodies “classified as a department, agency, or political subdivision of a county or city.” See, e.g., Attorney General Opinions JM-4 (1983); D-467 (1974). The definition ,x[ governmental body does not, however. inr.lude committees subordinate to the governing body of a school district or junior college district such as the grievance committee. Since the Alamo Comnunitf College grievance committee is not a governmental body within th,e statutory definition, it is not subject p. 1550 . Bouorable Carl A. Parker - P1g8 b (JM-340) to the Open Meeting8 Act. Tba March 29 hearing vas therefore not a meeting subject to the Opeu Ileetings Act. You next ask vhcther the chaucellor could order persons to leave the premises of district headquarters. Since the grievance comittae hearing was not subject to the Open Meetings Act, student reporters had no right under that act to attend. Whether the chancellor could properly order persons to 1t:ave the preuisea of district headquarters depends upon all the facts and circumstances. The trustees of a conmmity college "have the exclusive power to manage and govero" the schools of the district. Eiuc. Code 123.26(b). They msy adopt "such rules, regulations, and by-,lavs as they may deem proper." College officials may enforce rules and regulations to deter disruption of the educational environment. tansdale v. Tyler Junior College, 318 P. Supp. 529 (D.C. 1970); l&l::8 v. Board of Trustees, Tarraat County Junior College District, 480 S.W.2d 289 (Tex. Clv. App. - Fort Worth 1972, writ ref'd n.r.e.). d.ssuming the chancellor vas acting pursuant to authority validly delegated by the trustees, he vas empowered to order persons to leave district headquarters. See also Penal Code 942.05 (disrupting a meetiaf,). SUMMARY ? A grievance committee of the Alamo Conrrwnlty , College District is not a "governmental body" within the Open Eleetiags Act, article 6252-17, V.T.C.S. J Ak Very truly your JIM MATTOX Attoruey General of Texas TOMGREBN First Assistant Attorney General DAVID R. RICHARDS Executive Assistant Attorney General ROBERTGRAY Special Assistant Attorney General RICK GILPIN Chairman, Opinion Coxanittet! Prepared by Susan L. Garriricln Assistant Attorney General p. 1551 . . . , ,. Ronorablo Carl A. Parkor - Page S (311-340) APPROVED: OPINIONCOMIITTIZE Rick Gilpin, Chairman Susm Garrison Tony Guillory Jim Moellinger Jennifer Riggs Nancy Sutton Sarah Woelk Bruce Youngblood p. 1552