Case Information
*1 [0] L OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
Honorable L. A. Woods
State Superintendent of 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 .where two receiving sohools out of the same sending district, pproval of the Department and the er. developed that Shanklln was a cor?tract to 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 Yiilson lived 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 transportation on children living in Shanklin who continued to attend the Salado Sahool aa originally planned 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 transportation routes 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 inetanoea may aid be granted for puplla transported rho attend a grade In another school whioh grade is taught in suoh pupilfs home district. Ro transportation aid 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 Legislative Advisory 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 transported in an approved bus over an approved route. * * Q "
A short time after the routes were approved, the Shank- 'lin district contracted to tranefer its entire enrollment to the Belton Independent School 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 proportionate part 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 Crmnaportatfon oan legally be mde foP t&e ahildren who attended the salado Sohool after the above mentioned transfer oontPaot was entered into.
Transportation aid may not be @antid under the Ruril Aid Bill for pupil8 who attend a grade in a aohool which grcrde la tmght in such pupil*s home dietriot. ArtiiiPle V, Seotlon 2, rupra. The question neoeaaPrily resolves 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.a enrollment la ,authorlsed where the sendb$j~iat is uuable to &kin a aa.tiofaotory aohool. Manifestly, one of the feotora whio@ are considered in detenmining whether a aahool is artiafaatory or *4 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 aoholaatlo enrolkaeut may be trauaferred, was to supply the grades whloh were needed and do away with the neoeaaity of trazaaferrlug atudenta lndlvldually to 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 provisions of this Aot, or auah proportionate part 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, the reeelving dlrtrlot la the therefore, hoam dlatrlot of the students transferred under Artlob VIII.
We do not thin)F that the identity of the sending dla- trlot la dbatroyed by tihetraf~fer Of its entim aoho&atio l uroI3amnt under Seotion 1 of Artlole VIII. In other words, the ~hankllu Independaut S&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 aaholaatlo age shall be pemltted to attend the publlo fY?ee aahoola of the dlatrlat or independent dlatrlot ln which it realdea at ths time It applies for adalaalon, notwlthatanding that it may have been enumerated elsewhere, or amy have attended school elsewhere part of the pa&'.
It is our opinion that the aohoIaatlas residing in the oonfiuea of the Shanl~lin diatrlat are residents of such dia- trlct for general purpoaeal but after the entlre saholaatla Onrollment of auoh dtatrlat has been transferred to the Selton Independent school Dlatrlot such acholaatlae are residents of the Belton diatslot insofar as the payamnt of tranaportatfon aid la oonoerned. Xour firet quaatlon la answered In this manner.
Honorable L* A. Woods, page #S
I~I view of mhat we have said, it is our opinion that where the entire scholastic enrollment has been trans- ferred under Section 1 of Artlole VIII, transportation aid 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 GILRERAL OF !lXXAS 5%3/a