0
OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
L
Honorable L. A. Woods
State Superintendentof Public Instruotlon
Austin, !l‘eXtSE
Dear Sir:
We have received yo ptember 14, 1942,
rerence to the
owing from your
on about which
8 type Is tne &hanklin
h was approved by the
the Joint Legislative
to transport their
taught in Shsnklin to
You will note that Seation 2 of
BiU 284;Acts of the 47th Lsg-
that .wheretwo receiving sohools
out of the same sending district,
pproval of the Department and the
er.developed that Shanklln was
a cor?tractto tranafer the entire dia-
trict to Belton as provided for in Article 8 of
House Bill 284. I should like your opinion on these
two questione:
"1. Edward Yiilsonlived ln Shanklin and attended
school at Salado rather than goiry to Belton. Whioh
is the home district of Edward Wlleon--Shanklin,the
district in which he aotually resides, or Belton?
Ronorable L. A. Woods, page #2
"2. Since the duplicate semlce was approved
by the Department and the Comnittee,would the
transfer of the district by contract make it ll-
legal to pay transportationon children living
in Shanklin who continued to attend the Salado
Sahool aa originallyplanned and approved7 You
will please bear in mind that no sohool was op-
erated in the Shanklin Dlstriot, and, therefore,
the grades of none of the ohildren were taught
in the dlstrlot in uhioh they aotually res1ded.s
The approval of the transportationroutes was made
under the authority of that pad of Seotion 2, Article V, of
the Rural Aid Act (Acts 1941, 47th Leg., R. S., Ch. 549, R.B.
2&M, p. SSO), whioh reads as followsr
*seo.2. In no inetanoeamay aid be granted
for puplla transportedrho attend a grade In
another school whioh grade is taught in suoh
pupilfs home district. Ro transportationaid
shall be granted for a pupil being transported
out of his home school dietriot if tuo (2) or
more reoelring sahoola are applying for trsns-
portation aid from such pupills home district
unless the bus routes through suah district
have been approved by the State Department of
Education, and suah approval confirmed by the
Joint LegislativeAdvisory Committee. Aid shall
not be granted under any provisfons or this ar-
tiale unless the pupil so tramported actually
resides more than two and one-half (2 l/2) miles
from the eohool attended and la transportedin
an approved bus over an approved route. * * Q "
A short time after the routes were approved, the Shank-
'lindistrict contracted to tranefer its entire enrollment to
the Belton IndependentSchool Dietriot under the provisions of
Artiole VIII of the Rural Aid Bill. You have informed ue that
this contraot was for the school year 1941-42. Section 1 of
Article VIII reads aa follows:
gonomble L, A. Woods, we #S
*Section 1. For the eohool year 1941-42, upon
the qgPeement of the Board of Trmateea of the dis-
trlcta conuerned or on petition aigued by a major-
Ity of the quallfled voters of the district and
eubjeot to the approval of the County Supsrlntend-
ant, State Syperlntendent,and Joint Legislative
Advlaory Cammltteo,the tmuteer, Of a dlatriot
whlohmaybeunable Co&talna aati8faotory
suhool may truufor its sntlre aeholaatS.0 enroll-
ment, or any number of grades thereof, to a oon-
veuient aohool of higher rank, and in auah event,
all of the funds of the diatriot, including the
State Aid to nhlah the diatrlot would. otherwise
be entitled under the pro~ialona of this Aot. or
auuh proportionatepart thereof as may be neobe-
aary shall be uaed in carrying out said agreement)
provldod that no aid &all be allowed for teachers
zb&rnnot aatually employed in the oontraatlng
.
You rlah to know whether the Belton or the m
dirtriet is the hme distriot of EdmaPd Vllaon and whether
t&e pagnent of Crmnaportatfonoan legally be mde foP t&e
ahildren who attended the salado Sohool after the above
mentioned transfer oontPaot was entered into.
Transportationaid may not be @antid under the Ruril
Aid Bill for pupil8 who attend a grade in a aohool which
grcrdela tmght in such pupil*s home dietriot. ArtiiiPle V,
Seotlon 2, rupra. The question neoeaaPrilyresolves itself
into a deteminntion whether the transfer of the entire en-
rollment under Artlale VIII changes the home district of the
pupils. WI are of the opinion that for the purpose of pay-
Ing transportation aid under the Rural Aid Bill suoh change
is erfeoted.
The transfer of the e&ire 8uholaati.aenrollment la
,authorlsedwhere the sendb$j~iat is uuable to &kin a
aa.tiofaotoryaohool. Manifestly, one of the feotora whio@ are
consideredin detenminingwhether a aahool is artiafaatoryor
Honorable L. A. Woods, pagefi
not Is the number of grades taught. It follows that one of
the reasons for passing Artlele VIII, whereby the entire
aoholaatloenrolkaeutmay be trauaferred,was to supply the
grades whloh were needed and do away with the neoeaaity of
trazaaferrlugatudenta lndlvlduallyto other aahoola where
their grades are taught. The Peoelrlng dlatriot receiuea the
funds of the rending dlatrlot, %noludlng the State Aid to
Ihlah the dlatrlotrould otherulae be entitled under the
provisionsof this Aot, or auah proportionatepart thereof
as may be neceaaary ahaIl be uaod in orrryiug out said agree-
ment” . The bllI providea for the trauafer of the eentiree
onrol&ent. We belleve that it mama what it aaya. FOP
ptwal aid purpoae8, therefore, the reeelving dlrtrlot la the
hoam dlatrlot of the students transferredunder Artlob VIII.
We do not thin)Fthat the identity of the sending dla-
trlot la dbatroyedby tihetraf~ferOf its entim aoho&atio
luroI3amntunder Seotion 1 of Artlole VIII. In other words,
the ~hankllu IndependautS&o01 Diatriot remalna au independ-
ent aahool diatrlat, and Its truateea aontlnue to hold offioe
aud perform the duties lnaldsnt thereto.
Artlale 2201, Revised Civil Statutes, reads as follows:
%very ehlld in this Skte of aaholaatloage
shall be pemltted to attend the publlo fY?ee
aahoola of the dlatrlat or independentdlatrlot
ln which it realdea at ths time It applies for
adalaalon,notwlthatandingthat it may have been
enumeratedelsewhere, or amy have attended school
elsewherepart of the pa&'.
It is our opinion that the aohoIaatlasresiding in the
oonfiuea of the Shanl~lindiatrlat are residents of such dia-
trlct for general purpoaeal but after the entlre saholaatla
Onrollmentof auoh dtatrlat has been transferredto the Selton
Independentschool Dlatrlot such acholaatlaeare residents of
the Belton diatslot insofar as the payamnt of tranaportatfon
aid la oonoerned. Xour firet quaatlon la answered In this
manner.
HonorableL* A. Woods, page #S
I~Iview of mhat we have said, it is our opinion
that where the entire scholasticenrollment has been trans-
ferred under Section 1 of Artlole VIII, transportationaid
may not be granted for pupils who attend a grade in another
school whloh grade is taught in the reoelvlng diatriot.
Your second question la, therefore, answered in the afflrma-
five.
Very truly your8
ATTORWEX GILRERALOF !lXXAS
5%3/a