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February 5, 1975
The Honorable M. L. Brockette Opinion No. H- 517
Commissioner of Education
Texas Education Agency Re: Ability of the Coordinating
201 East Eleventh Street Board to contract with the
Austin, Texas 78701 Texas Education Agency
Dear Dr. Brockette:
You have asked whether the Coordinating Board may enter into an inter-
agency contract with the State Board of Education concerning technical-
vocational education in public higher education, or whether such a contract
would neceaearily be impermissible under the Interagency Cooperation Act,
article 4413(32), V. T. C. S., and section 61.021, Education Code. No
particular contract has yet been prepared.
Section 61.021 provides in part:
[The Coordinating Board] shall perform only the
functions which are enumerated in this chapter
and which the legislature may assign to it.
Section 5 of article 4413(32) similarly states:
No agreement or contract may be entered into
or performed which will require or permit an
agency of the State to exceed its constitutional
or statutory duties and responsibilities . . . .
It is our understanding that the Board of Control, the agency charged
with administering article 4413(32), has interpreted the Act to allow those
contracts which require a particular agency to perform only functions of
the same type as those entrusted to the agency by statute or constitutional
provision. It is our opinion that this is the correct construction of
article 4413(32) and that section 5 prohibits only those contracts which
require an agency to perform functions unlike those which it may perform
under statute or constitutional provision. See
- Attorney General Opinion
M-1253 (1972).
p. 2331
The Honorable M. L. Brockette, page 2 (H-517)
Section 61.070 of the Education Code provides that none of the duties
or functions of the Central Education Agency are affected by the establish-
ment of the Coordinating Board. Section 11.24(a) of the Education Code
makes the State Board of Education the State Board for Vocational
Education. However, in our opinion, these statutes would not invalidate
an interagency contract so long as the Board of Educatioh retains its
ultimate responsibility in the discharge of its duties. The statutes con-
template that the Coordinating Board will enter into interagency contracts
(Education Code, 5 61.067) and that the State Board for Vocational Edu-
cation and the Coordinating Board will act cooperatively [Education Code,
§ 5 31. 81 and 61. 051(f)].
“[The Coordinating Board] shall represent the highest authority in the
state in matters of public higher education. ” Education Code, $ 61.051(a).
Pursuant to this responsibility, the Board performs such functions as
program and course review [ §‘61; 051(f)], the promotion of teaching excel-
lence (§ 61.057), the supervision of construction and development of
physical plants ( § 61.058), recommendations as to appropriations (§ 61.059),
the prescription of a uniform system of reporting and accounting (§ 61.065).
and the preparation of studies, recommendations, and reports (§ 61.066).
In our opinion there is no impediment to a contract between the Coor-
dinating Board and the State Board of Education whereby the Coordinating
Board performs functions of the same type as those within its statutory
responsibilities, provided that the State Board of Education does not dele-
gate its discretionary authority as the State Board of Vocational Education
and retains its ultimate responsibility over the State’s technical and
vocational education programs. Attorney General Opinion M-1253 (1972).
Any specific contract will be subject to approval by the Board of Control.
Attorney General Opinion H-446 (1974).
SUMMARY
The Coordinating Board may enter an interagency
contract with the State Board of Education whereby the
p. 2332
r
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The Honorable M. L. Brockette, page 3 (H-517)
Coordinating Board will perform functions of the
same type as those entrusted to it by statute, provided
that the State Board of Education retains its ultimate
responsibil.ity over the State’s technical-vocational
education program.
Very truly yours,
//JOHN L. HILL
(./ Attorney General of Texas
APPROVED:
DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant
Opinion Committee
p. 2333
Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion
Combined Opinion