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OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
AUSTIN
Botmrable Clifford B. Jones,Fresidont
Texas lkiohi3falo(jlcol College
tubbook, Tax&s
Dear Sir:
We fire III avooipt 0 0Y October 17,
l.939, rhioh rsade 6~ follow
*In oonueoti
we pl~pu 8ubmW a&at&ar quer-
8hoW that one or cur mtu6ent8 wmmed
the hwma Hew idexieo Junior colle~o in
the fall of 1936 and ooegletsd tva yeara
61 work there. tfe registered hera in the
?a11 or 1998. iie will awgucat that he be
20
iionorable Cllfrord u. 3ones, Page 3
allowed fn due coilrse ot time to be sad-
Uated under tba pro~lsl.ons or the Texas
law
._ whlob._ we belleYe. __ provides that a stu-
aenc enterlag a puDllc, tax-supported ool-
lege prior to September 1, 1937, may eat-
iary the goverainent requirement by pass-
ing a two-hour course. Therefore the
uue8tioa preeeats itself - does 6ntrawe
la a tax-su?gorted iaatitutloa la aaother
State prior to September 1, 1937, entitle
the student 60 graduate ia Texaa under the
two eeseater &our8 regulremeat?V
kppareatly the statute to whlah you refer la Arti-
cle Z663b-1, Veraan*s Texas Civil Statutes, 3925, being hots
of the Forty-rlret Legislature, 1989 seaand Called Session
p. 164, oh. 83; aa ameaded by i.ots o$ the Forty-flrat J.,egl$
lature, 1930, Fourth Called Seasion, 9. b, oh. 5; as anmnded
by Aots of the Forty-fifth Leglelature, 1937, p. 483, oh. 244;
as amnded by AOtD of the Forty-elxth Legislature, 1939, Home
Bill No. 619.
J-;e oonflne our opinion to a ooaetruotlon ot the ap-
parent nusaning of the language used therein.
Sectlone iZ and 4 of the above Aot road ae follorrr:
Yieotlon 8. Th6re shall be given
in all oolleges and unlvereltfea sup-
pmted by publlo funds a oourae in merl-
oaa Government wlth epeolal empharrle
upon t&a Coastitutlon of the United
iSates and of Texas, whlah oourae &all
be given Sor at leaot three Sirty-
minute periods per week for not leee
than twelve ooaaeoutive week@, or lt8
equivalent if given in suxm5r seselone.
Ho atudeat shall be graduated from any
such oollege or unlrersity rho ha aot
passed a aatlafaotory elamlnatlon in
euoh oollege or unlYerelty eourw in the
college or university from whioh be is
(paduatlng or in some other oollage or
unlyerelty whloh he may have attended
pruvlowly.
Tiectian 4. Ho 9ersen hereaft6r
shall be aertitled to teaoh ia the
Honorable Clifford B. Jones, Yege 3
publld schools of the State of Texas
until he has scoured oredlt ror the
course ln both Federal and State Con-
etitutloae of the grade or lastruo-
tloa upon whloh he la applying ror
the oertlfioate,that 1s either of
the suboollege or of the college work;
or la lieu thereor ahall have passed
aa examlaetloa set by the state Super-
latendeat of Pub110 Iastruotloa oa the
Coaetf tut lone of the United Sta tea and
Texre; provided, that any parson who
haa to.,hls credit la any standard eel-
bg@ or:UXilVer8lty or Terse a8 IPU~~ aa
eir (6’) hour0 0s ;IrPerlaua 00fmmeat
shall be deemd to have met the re-
qulremeatr, of thle Seotloa. Provided
-.
rurther, that after September 1. loa?
a0 6tudeat hall be oertlriedfor teai-
Utloa Frau any tax supported State
eduoatloaal lnetltutloa with the award
of a oollege degree .unlem suoh etudent
ehall hare oamnlated theretorore la a
ataadara college or ualveraltr at least
six (61 houre for oredlt in the aovera-
meats of the State of Texas or of the
tialted states or merloa. or the sau~v-
aleat in both; or shall heve oompletea
at leaet three (9) hours ,of said oredlt
la Goverameat, and at least three (3)
hour8 or oradlt la a oourse la Yllltexy
soleaoe as provided la an anproved
senior R. 0. T. c. ualt.*
In Senate Bill Ho. 179, Chapter 83, kcts Forty-
rlrst Second Called session,
Legislature, It wm provided
that the terms of such kot should not apply to aay student
graduated before September 1, 19%. Ia 1930, the Forty-
first Le&elature, Fourth Galled Yeesion, &nate Bill Eo.
II, Chapter 3, asanAeA 8eotloa 5 of chapter Ho. 83, Seeoad
CaileA Yesaloa, Forty-rlrst Legl8lature so as to provide
eaarrted lnto law’.
students alrendy arolled In State la6tltutloaa might other-
22
Honorable Clif’iord B. Jone, Pug8 4
wise, In some Fnstanoes, be denied the privilege of grcrdua-
tlon, they hsvlng entered such s&o01 and arranged their
courac% 15 reliance upon then existing reqair4mie5t%.
although it la well mottled that a oonaurront
re%olUtiOn OtiMOt ass56 % St%tUt8 or exiStill& law, neverthe-
18~8 euoh reaolutlon ropreaenta a oonstruotion or expressioa
of Intention on the of the La~lslature, and may be per-
suaslvcr In asoertaln the n*aalng of a statute when the
law in weetion is &uouo and susoeptlbla to several uon-
~trwtlons, any one or uhloh ml&t reasonably be ildl.oative
of the legislative intent in passing the ,mt.
itouee Concurrent Hesolution HO. ru, Forty-fifth
LeRlglalature, 1937, RrgUiar Yesslol), p. 1629, whioh refers to
thr amendment to Ssatlon 4 underlined above, reada, ia part,
a8 tollowe :
1)f;mx$J . j . It was ovldontly the
Intent of the i&%lature to have only
thoao who onter oollogo artier September
1, 1837, to ineet thir, roqulrorrmnt, for
any other lntorproliatlon w+II.~be ll-
logical, unreasonable, unfair, and cou-
trary to all aoadomlo praotloe; now
therefore,be It
"~L.AX.V.~D,by the Souso of Repre-
sentatives und the Senate 00110urri~~g,
That 0~16 pr~~lao shall be so oonrtruetl
and applied to alfoot only those madents
d-m eproll In suoh Lnstftutiona after
Seicrptember1, 1957, and ohall not apply
to students who enroll in the tax eup-
;le think it la olear: that l,a ROWS COnOUrrwt Ro-
solution 2lo. lZ4 the Legislatureha& In mind and reterrod to
students who enroll84 In tax supported oolloges or unlversi-
ties, fn the Sate or Texas, a.tCer Sopteniber 1, 1937. AS
or;glnafiy enaoted in 19~~0, as abom by BacrtionS mtmtloned
above, the exemption applied only to those students who corn-
aOnO0d studies leading to a degree in LItate oolleges and unl-
versltles eu?porteQ by pub110 funds. #o doubt thla was Intended
to refer only to those~oollegea or universities to wM@h the
teaoung requirement in Lieotlon R applied and Was eonfined to
Eonorable Cllffor4 2. Jones, Page S
Texae colleges or unlversltles supported by public funds.
It ia OUT opinion that the Legislature by the uao
or the language contained in the provlao la Sectjon 4, Article
206Sb. above quoted, intended that the six hour requirement in
goverhnoat to graduate from a Taxae tax supported 8tato eduaa-
tional insltutlon, being a collogo or unlveralty aupportod by
pub110 funds In the Ytato of Texas, should apply to all atu-
donta who had not enrolled in such a aohool on or berora Sep-
tednw 1, 1937, although such student might have been enrolled
in a school in this state, other than those above desorlbod,
or %n a *oh001 in another state.
idoro epeolfloally anawerlng your last quoatlon, it
la our opinion that the Legislature did not intend that on-
trenoe in a tax supported institution In New ?dexioo prior to
2eptembor 1, 1937, should entitle a student to graduate tram
a Toxae college or university supported by taxeu or pub110
fuude, under the two senmater hours requirement.
Vilth rereronao to your quoation a? to whethor mull-
ofpal junior collogea oonatltuto tax aupportod collogea under
the atatuto, we aaaume that you refer to those oollegos lutbo-
rlmd to be oreatod undmr Acts of 1929, Forty-first Leglalafuro,
p.Ci47, Chapter 290, and aaendmnta thereto, apgeerlng In Vor-
non’8 lbaa Civil Statutes as Arbiolo 261Sh.
It will be noted that under tha provisions of the
above dot, amh junior aollegea are aubjeot to the jurladlotlon
of the State Board of $duoation, and a looal aohool beard. The
Junior Collage Diatrlot ia given power to laaue bonds, levy
taxes to aervloe anme, and levy an4 oolleot taxoa ior its aup-
port and mintenanoe. The 00urn0 0r atu6p 0rr0red in auoh
junior oolloga must bo aubmltted to and approved by th6 State
Department 0r zduoation betoro it may be 0rr6m.
It~ls our opinion that junior colleges jzrovfded ror
In ~~tiola 2515h. Vernon’s Texas Clvll Zitatutaa, 1925, are tax
eupportad Stato oduoatlonal lnatltutlons wlthln the uemulng of
tho provlao in %etlon 4, Art1010 2tMSb, Vernon18 Texas Civil
Btatutee, 1925.
Youra very truly
AT’fO~EY OICWRALOF TEXAS