Case Information
*1 GROVER SELLERS AUSTIN 11. TmxarJ
Hon. Joe Beeder, Jr.
County Attorney
Knox county Ben jamin, Texas Opinion No. O-6953 Dear Sir: Re: Should a corrected oensus roll
be used by the Department of Education in computing State aid due .&independent school district?
We have for attention and reply your letter of November 23, 1945, which reads as follews:
"In April, 1945, Munday Independent School District rendered a roll of the children of scholastio age to tie Xnox Counw Superintendentts office. The oensus taker erroneously dated two birth dates a year later than she should have. As a result the County Superintendent struck the two children's names concerned off the Munday roll of enumerated soholastios. a result, the Munday school fell two short of the enumerated scholastics that the school authorities believed they should have on the~roll. liken the first per oap- ita payment was made to Munday Independent School District it was two short of the expected amount.
*On investigation the facts mere discovered and the names of the tvm chil- dren that had been eliminated 'by the Knox County Superintendent were subunit- ted to the State Enumeration Offioe along with birth oertifioates of the two children.
eased upon the above facts, the following questions are sulxnitted, "1. Hill the corrected roll at the State Superintendent's Offioe be reoog- nieed for purpose of aaloulating state aid to the Munday,Independent School Distriotl
*2. What is the meaning of the phrase 'MO ohange in oensus* as set forth in the present rural aid bill Art. I, See, 61
"3. Does the term loensus* in Art. I, Sec. 6 meen Federal census or enum- erated sohelastios?'
In anawering“your first question/we assume that "the names of the two children that had been eliminated ~bythe ~QIOX County Superintendent were suhnitted to the State Enumeration Office along with the birth oertif- ioates of the two children," after Novemberl, 1945; the dead line for
Hon. Joe Reeder, Jr., page 2 (O-6963)
census changes as provided in Article I, Section 6 of Senate Bill 167, 49th Legislature, which reads as follows:
"Sec. 6. Ro adjustment of transfers or census ohanges made after November 1st of the current school year shall be reoognited in making grants of any type of aid under the provisions of this Aot.” (Underscoring ours)
This is a section which has not appeared in former Acts providing for rural aid and, consequently, wehave found no court decisions lnhich have pas- sed upon the validity or constitutionality of the provision. The wording of the section we think is clear and the intention of the Legislature must have been to prevent any changes in census reoords in so far as such would affect the amount of rural aid to which any sohool district would be entitled after November 1st of the current schoo1 year. The first question wc must decide is whether or not such a orovision would 'be contrarv to Article VII. Section 5 of our Constitution whioh provides, in part, as fbllowsr "And the available school fund herein provided shall be distributed to the several counties according to their soholastio population and applied in such marmer as may be provided by law." (Underscoring ours)
DI the ease of ldueeae, et al, v8. Marrs, 40 S.H. (2)'31, our Supreme County, Judge Cureton writing, rendered an opinion on the oonstitutionelity of the Rural Aid Appropriation Act, effective for the biennium beginning September 1, 1929. We think it well to quote pertinent paragraphs from this opinions
"The limitation in Seotion 5, Artiole 7, declaring that the available school fund 'must be appropriated tc counties according to scholastic population, has always applied and now applies only to the available sohool~ fund,' which is clearlv defined in that section. Constitutional provisions. like statutes, are properly to be interpreted in the light of the conditions ex- isting at the time of their adoption, the general spirit of the times, and the prevailing sentiments of the people."
"tinder the constitution, our publia schools are essentially state schools, and authority to oontrol their operation, except as otherwise provided, is included among the powers conferred upon the Legislature.* "Section 1 of Artiole 7 of the Constitution reads: ‘A general diffusion of knowledge being essential to the peserrration of the liberties and rights of the people, it shallbe the duty of the Legislature of the State to es- tablish and make suitable provisions for the support and maintenance of an effioient system of public free schools."
"The purpose ofthis section as written was not only to recognize the inher- ent powers in the Legislature to establish an educational system for the State, but also to~make it the,mandatory duty of the Legislature to make suitable provision for the support and maintenanoe of an efficient system of publkc free sahools,' necessarily conferred the power to make the msn- date effective. . . . Since the Legislature has the mandatory duty to *3 Hon. Joe Reeder, Jr., page 3 (C-6953)
make suitable provision for the su~uert and rrmintenanoe of an ~At'ficient A~~- ~~~ ~~~-- q+bik 9f public free sohools, -- and has the power to pss any law relative thereto, not prohibited by the Censtittition, it necessarily follows that it has a choice in the selection of methods by which the cbjeot cf%,e organic law may be effeotuated ,. Th b Legislature alone is to judge what means are necessary and apprcpriate for a nuruose wkioh the Constitution makes legitimate. -The legisl;tive~determination of the methods, restric- tions, and regulation is final, eroeptmhen so arb1trsr-y as te be viola- tive of the constitutional rights of, a, citizen."
"The word 'suitable' used in oonriection with the word 'provision' in this section of~the Constitution is an elaabic term. deuendine upon the necer- sities of changing times or oonditions, and.olearl$ leaves -%J the Legisla- ture the right to determine what is .suitable and its determination will not be reviewed bythe courts if the act has a real relation to the subject and object of the Constitution.” (lkrdersooring ours) "Equal proteqtion of laws is secured if the statutes do not subject the individual te ubitruy exercise of the peters of government. It is well settled that legialation is not open to objection if all whe are brought under its influence are treated alike in the same ciroumstanoes.w (&de+ scoring ours)
Seo$icn~S'~%&ole I,:'&,'& 167, had as its purpose that of assisting i-k departmen% in the detail administrationofthe entire act. stated above, it is a new prevision, plaoed intothe bill after experienoing the diffioulty of administering similar acts minus such a prevision. We do not think it arbitrary or unreasonablee It applies alike* all schools and districts which seek aid under the provisions of the Rural&id lU.11.
Articles 2816, 2817 and 28178 Revised Civil Statutes, previde for the methods to l-e follswed in the taking and repsrting of soholastio oen- *us. Article 26178 requires the oensus taken to~submit his report to the County Superintendent en or before May 1st of eaoh yeare '&ticle 2819 requires the County Superintendent to make consolidated rolls and csoruti- nice carefully the work of the census trustees, and rhall have p~$s summon witnesses, take affidavits and correot any errors he rnw flmd in azq oensus trustee's roll8 9 . ." and tiis suue article also requires Zhe County Superintendent to suWlt his consolidated rolls t-s the State Superintendent en or before 'July lst of eaoh year. There is, thesefore, a period of sir monthr, i.e., May 1st to November lst, during whiahtime errors in the werk ef the census takers may lx corrected. We find no legal objeotion to $eation 6 of Artiole I, S.B. 167, as passed bythe 49th Legislature, and must therefers snewer your first question negatively.
Your seoond question is,%mt is the mesning of the phrase 'no change in census* as set forth in the present rural aid bill, Art. I, Sea. 67” The dxaotwording of the section is as follows8 "No adjustment of transfers cr census changes made after November 1st of tha current school year shall be recognieed in making grants of any hype of aid *4 Hon. Joe Reeder, Jr., pace 4 (O-6953j
under the prmisions of this Apt." Wa believe itwastia intention of the Legislature in plaoing this prmision in the Bill to effeot a "dead line" after which no changes, or correotions whioh would alter the amount of Rural&id to which a given disMat may be entitled to receive, could be recognized.
In answer to your third qusstlon, you are advised that it is the considered opinion of this deparkmntthat the word "oensus" as used in Seotion 6 of Article I, S. B. 167, refers to Scholastic Census and not tile Federal Census.
busting the above satisfaotor$ly'ansrers your Inquiry, we rmain Very truly yours ATTORNEY GQEBAL OF TEXAS w /s/~E. 8. DeGeurin E. M. DeGeurin EMDeGlbtl9gW Assistmt APPROVED DEC 7, 1945
/d GROVER SEUERS ATTORNEY GENEPAL OFTEXAS AF.PROVED
Opinion Committee Ebrm Chairmm