IY
.’ OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
‘:r’ AUSTIN
..:.
ci GROVER SELLERS
ATTORNEYGENERAL
Honorable C. C. iiandle
county ,ttorney, Ellle county
tiaxahachie,Texas
Dear sir:
to operate a
IIsohool district?
ty Board of
SGh001
the
right to ohange
atioo of an elementary
y claesirle8to a
olaselrlaetlon?
0 get an opinion rr0a you on
aa (1): Does the County Board of
ve the right and authority to de-
of eoholaatlopupils neoeesary to
in a Common 3ohool District?
*~uaetlon Two (2): Does the county Bonrd 0r
$ahool Trustees hcivothe right to than@ the olassl-
fiaation of an elementtlryschool already classified,
to a school OS no olaseitiaatlon?
“8~ will appreolats your oplnlon on thuse tw0
questions as the parties desire your opinion and not
the Opinion Of this OffiOe.”
In answer to your flret question, you are advised that
we have been unable to find any law authorlzlngthe County Board
of School Trustees to determine the number of scholastia pupils
neoessary to operate a sohaol in a oommon school district. If
any board has such authority it wouLd be the district trustees.
Article 2749, Vernon's Annotated Clvll Statutes, provides that:
*Bald trustees shall have the management and
oontrol of the public sohools and pub110 sohool
grounds; and they shall de~termlnehow many aohools
shall be maintained in their school dlstrlot, and
at what points they shall be located; provided, that
not more than one 8ohool for white ohlldrsn and one
eohool fcr oolored ohlldren shall be establishedfor
saah sixteen 8quare miles of territory or major por-
tion thereof, within suoh dlstrlot; and they shall
determine when the schools shall be opened and c1osed.v
This quertlon 1s answered in the negative.
Article 267Ba, mads, in part, as follows:
*The county board of sohool truateea,atthe
regular meeting In May of eaoh year or aa soon there-
after as praatiaable,shall olasaify the schools of
the oouhty, lnaludingthose in independentschool
districts, in aouordanoewith auah regulationsas
the state superintendentmay presoribs into elemen-
tary sohools and high schools for the purpose of
promoting the effloienoy of the elemsntary eahools
and OS establishingand prom@lng high eohools at
convenientand suitable places. h cladrying
the sahools and in e8tabllshihghigh schools, said
.. trustees shall give due regard to schools already
located, to the distributionof population,an8 to
i? ~$mceaent of the student.6in their studies.
The above is the only authority we flnd~with reference
to the authority of the County Board to classify sohools and
It 1s rather vague since it is qualified by the phrase 43 ao-
oordanoewith suoh ~regulationsas the State Superintendentmay
prescribe."
We have been advised by Mr. Robinson of the Department
of Education that when the dietrlct tSusteeS of a COrrUDnSOho
dlstriat deterudnethat thsy do not wiehto transfer the entire
enrollmentto another dlstrlot and do hot wish to oonduct a
school in thslr own distrlot, it la the pollay of the Department
of Eduoatlon to advise such dlstrlat trustees to reqosst the
County Board of Trustees to olasslfy their sohool as "no grade .
olasslflcation." Ne find no law authorizing suoh "no grade
/ olasslflcation"onless this policy of tbs Departvent oonstitutea
a Wregulationaof the State Superintendent.
It i8 OUT opinion that the Couoty Board of Sohool Trusteee
,' does hot have the authority to change the elasslflaatiOhOf an ele-
y mentary aohhoolakeady alasslfledto a soho of vn0 classlflcatlonv
unless Sllah aotlon 1s requested by the trustees of the 0O-n school
$ dietriot.
2
yours very truly
ATTORREYGRNERAI,OFTEXZS
C. F. Gibson
Aeelstant