February 27. 1975
The Honorable Bevington Reed Opinion No. H- 541
Commissioner, Coordinating Board
Texas College and University System Re: Whether a junior college
P. 0. Box 12788, Capitol Station is governed by section 13.101
Austin, Texas 78711 et seq. of the Education Code,
relating to probationary and
continuing contracts of employ-
ment.
Dear Commissioner Reed:
You have requested our opinion concerning the applicability of
chapter 13, subchapter C of the Education Code to junior colleges.
Subchapter C deals with public school teachers’ employment contracts
and is appIicable to “[e]ach teacher hereafter employed by any school
district in this state. . . .” Education Code $13.101. Whether a
junior college district is within the definition of “school district”
apparently depends on the circumstances and context involved. See
Shepherd v. San Jacinto Junior College District, 363 S. W. 2d 742-
(Tex. Sup. 1962); Mumme v. Marrs, 40 S. W. 2d 31 (Tex. Sup. 1931);
Williams v. White, 223 S. W. 2d 278 (Tex. Civ. App. --San Antonio
1949, writ ref.).
In our opinion, when the Education Code is viewed as a whole,
it is clear that subchapter C applies only to those educational institutions
within the jurisdiction of the Central Education Agency. Subchapter C
provides for an appeal to the commissioner of education from certain
orders discharging teachers. A further appeal to the State Board of
Education is also provided. Education Code 5 13.115. However, with the
exception of certain aspects of vocational and technical programs, neither
the commissioner of education nor the State Board of Education exercises
control over junior colleges, that control generally being vested in the
Coordinating Board, local public junior college districts, and the governing
p. 2433
The Honorable Bevington Reed page 2 (H-541)
board of each public junior college. Education Code $61.060. In addition,
chapter 130 of the Education Code specifically governs junior college dis-
tricts and grants to the Coordinating Board “general control of the public
junior colleges of Texas. ‘I Education Code b 130.001.
The Legislature has provided for the exercise of this control by
the Coordinating Board with respect to the faculty-institution relationship.
Section 61.05 of the Education Code provides:
To achieve excellence in the teaching of
students at institutions and agencies of higher
education, the board shall:
(1) develop and recommend:
(A) minimum faculty compensation plans, basic
increment programs, and incentive salary increases;
(B) minimum standards for faculty appointment,
advancement, promotion, and retirement:
(C) general policies for faculty teaching loads,
and division of faculty time between teaching, research,
administrative duties, and special assignments;
(D) faculty improvement programs, including a
plan for sabbatical leaves,’ appropriate foi the junior
and senior colleges and universities, respectively: and
(E) minimum standards for academic freedom,
academic responsibility, and tenure;
This section is applicable to “institutions and agencies of higher education. ”
Expressly included within the definition of this term is “any public junior
college. ” Education Code, $61.003 (7). Pursuant to section 61.057, the
Coordinating Board has promulgated Policy Paper 1, “Academic Freedom,
Tenure, and Responsibility for Faculty Members in Texas Public Colleges
and Universities. ” In addition to the entitled subject matter, the Paper
provides for written terms of employment, due process proceedings in
dismissal cases and cases where academic freedom infringement is alleged,
and the recruitment and resignation of faculty members.
p. 2434
The Honorable Bevington Reed page 3 (H-541)
Since public junior colleges are under the control of the Coordinating
Board, such control encompassing faculty-institution relationships, and
since the Central Education Agency exercises no such control, it is clear
that chapter 13, subchapter C, of the Education Code was not intended to
apply to public junior colleges. Consequently, “school district” as contained
in section 13.101 does not encompass junior college districts.
SUMMARY
Chapter 13, subchapter C, of the Education
Code is not applicable to teachers in public junior
colleges.
Very truly yours,
Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
C. ROBERT HEATH, Chairman
Opinion Committee
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