The Attorney General of Texas
JIM MA?TOX 0::ober 24, 1984
Attorney General
Supreme Cowl Building
Mr. Reymon L. Bynum Opinion No. m-219
P. 0. BOX 1254a Conrmissioner of Education
Austin. TX. 78711. 25.9 Texas Education Age n:y RI?: Authority of peace officers
51214752501 201 East 11th Street commissioned by school districts
Telex QlolS74-1367
Austin, Texas 78731
Telacooier 5121475-0266
Dear Mr. Bynum:
714 Jackson. Suite 7W
DaIhs. TX. 75202.4508 You have askwl the following two questions regarding peace
2141742-8944
officers commissiowd by boards of trustees of independent echool
districts:
4824 AIWRa Ave.. Suite 160
El Paso. TX. 799052793 1. What are the responsibilities of the Texas
91515333494 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards
and Education concerning such peace officers?
. I Texas. Suite 700
HO”SlO”. TX. 77OQ2.3111 2. Do such peace officers . . . have all the
713l2255886 powers, privileges, and immunities of peace
officers whenever they are in the performance of
their official duties even when they are not on
EN Broadway, Suite 312
Lubbock. TX. 79401.3479
school property? ([For example, during the] hot
SOSi747.5238 pursuit of a person who has committed a crime on
school p’roperty. the regulation of traffic on
contiguous streets, and [the] investigation of
4309 N. Tenth. Sutle S
McAlle”. TX. 785ol.lS85
crimes co:mnitted on school property.)
5121682.4547
You advise us that :he first question is prompted by the refusal of
the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Staodards and Education to
203 Main Plaza. Suile CO license putative Iwace officers commissioned pursuant to section
Son Antonio. TX. 782052797
21.483 of the Education Code. This section provides as follow:
512/225-4191
The board of trustees of any school district may
employ campus security personnel for the purpose
of carryiag out the provisions of this subchapter
and if the board of trustees authorizes any
officer tc bear arma then they must connaission
them as peace officers. Any officer comissioned
under this section is vested with- all the powers.
privilege,,, and immunities of pesce officers while
on the pr,>perty under the control and jurisdiction
of the dis,rrict or othervise in the performance of
his dutic!ri. Any officer assigned to duty and
commissiowd shall take and file the oath required
Mr. Raymon L. Bynum - Page 2 m-219)
of peace officers, aod ahall execute and file a
good and sufficfent boad In the au0 of $1,000,
payable to the board of trustees, vith two or more
good and sufficient sureties, conditioned that he
will fairly, impsrtlally. and faithfully perform
all the duties that nay be required of him by law.
The bond may be sued on from tima to time in the
name of any person l.njured until the whole amount
of the bond is wcovered. Any peace officer
coaunissioned under this section must meet all
minimum standards for peace officers established
by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education within one year of his
commission, or his commission shall automatically
expire.
The explicit language of’ section 21.483 establishes that: (1) a
school district board of trustees may employ campus security personnel
to carry out the provisions of subchapter H of chapter 21 of the
Education Code; (2) campus .,wurity personnel commissioned as peace
officers under section 21.483 possess “all the pavers, privileges, and
immunities of peace officers ,rhile on the property under the control
and jurisdiction of [their employing school] district or otherwise In
the performance of [their] duties”; and (3) officers commissioned
under section 21:483 must, within one year of their cowmission. meet
all minimum standards for Ilesce officers established by the Texas
Cosunission oo Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education
[hereinafter TCLEOSE], or their commissions automatically expire.
Section 6(c) of article 4413(29aa). V.T.C.S., provides that
[n]o person who dowl oot have a license issued by
the Commission [on Law Enforcement Standards and
Education] shall be appointed as s peace
officer. . . .
Section 6(h) off the same statute provides:
‘Peace officer,’ 1cr the purposes of this Act,
means only a persor so designated by Article 2.12.
Code of Criminal I’rocedure, 1965, or by Section
51.212 or ,5! .214, Texas Education Code.
It has been suggested that csapus security personnel may not under any
circumstances be regarded ac, “peace officers,” because they are not
vithin either article 2.12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure or
sections 51.212 or 51.214 cmf the Education Code and are therefore
ineligible to be licensed as peace officers under article 4413(29aa).
We agree that campus tiecurity personnel commissioned as peace
otficers under section 21.483 of the Education Code are not eligible
p. 984
Mr. Raymon L. Byoum - Page 3 (JH-219)
to be licensed aa “peace officers” by the commission under article
4413(29aa). The express language of sections 6(c) and 6(h) of article
4413(29aa) dictates this conclusion. This does not meao. however,
that such personnel may not be designated as “peace officers” by a
different statute. Section 6(h) of article 4413(29aa) provides only
that “for purposes of --- this Act,” &, article 4413(29as), the term
“peace off ice?’ includes only those persons so designated by the
enumerated statutes; it dew not rule out the possibility that some
other act may designate somwne as a “peace officer.” And this offlce
haseld on severs1 occasions that a variety of statutes other than
article 4413(29aa) designat,? certain individuals as “peace officers.”
See, e.g., Attorney GeneraIL Opinion MU-54 (1979) and opinions cited
therein.
Section 21.483 expresrily designates as “peace officers” campus
security personnel commissioned as such under that section, and this
statute Is oo an equal footing with article 4413(29aa). When article
4413(29aa) and section 21.M are read together and harmonized. as
they‘must be, Calvert v. Pwt Worth Nat&al Bank, 356 S.W.Zd- 918
(Tex. 1962). the conclusion inevitably follows that section 21.483
campus security personnel are peace officers who by the very terms of
‘section 21.483 must meet .1:11 TCLEOSE minimum standards within one
year. Those standards include licensure by TCLEOSE. Of course, they
enjoy their status as peace officers ouly in certain instances, i.e.,
“while on the property under the control and jurisdiction of the
district or otherwise in t’w performance of [their] duties.” Educ.
Code 521.483.
In answer to your f::rst question, therefore, because campus
security personnel commissioned as “peace officers” under section
21.483 of the Education Cods are not eligible to be “peace officers,”
as defined by article 4413(29aa), the commission has oo licensing
responsibility coecerning t’wse officers. Under the express terms of
section 21.483, the boards of trustees of the school districts of this
state, not the commission, have the discretion to decide whether to
commission individuals as “peace officers” under that statute and the
power to issue such commissions If they choose to do so. The boards
of trustees must require that anyone commissioned as a “peace officer”
under section 21.483 satisf:r the “minfmum standards for peace officers
established by” the cowission, including medical, educational.
testing. and other requirenents, within one year. The cocaaission in
its discretion may consult with such boards .on the implementation of
these standards. V.T.C.S. art. 4413(29aa), 12(a)(6).
Your second question cannot be answered in the abstract. As
noted, campus security personnel may be employed “for the purpose of
carrying out the provisions of [subchapter M of chapter 21 of the
Education Code] .‘I They are clothed with the powers. privileges, and
immunities of peace officer:5 generally “while on the property under
the control and jurisdict:cln of the district or otherwise in the
performance of [their] duties.” Whether campus security personnel
p. 985
Hr. Rsyaon L. Bynum - Page 4 (m-219)
would be authorized to eagnge in the particular activities you
describe is a fact question. The resolution of this question depend8
upon the scope of their duttes as defined by their employing school
boards and vhether they maI’ be said to be “on property under the
control and jurisdiction wf the district or otherwise in the
performance of [their] duties;” vhen they engage in such activities.
2’u n n A u Y
The Texas Colnlission on Law Enforcement
Standards has no licensing responsibility I
concerning “peace officers” commissioned under
section 21.483 of the Texas Education Code. The
scope of the pouczs of section 21.483 peace
officers depends upon the nature and scope of
their duties as defined by their employing school
district boards of trustees and upon whether, when
they engage in pclrticular activities. they are
carrying out the Ilrovisions of subchapter M of .
chapter 2 of the Mucation Code and are “on the
property under the control and jurisdiction of
[their employing] district or [are] otherwise in
the performance of Itheir] duties.”
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas
TOMGREEN
First Assistant Attorney General
DAVID R. RICHARDS
Executive Assistant Attorney General
Prepared by Jon Bible
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINIONCOMHITTEE
Rick Gilpin, Chairman
Jon Bible
Susan Garrison
Ann Kraatx
Jim Moellinger
Nancy Sutton
Bruce Youngb load
p. 986