Prior to 1927, Section 3, Article 7 of the State Constitution contained the following language:

"And the legislature may also provide for the formation of school districts by general or special law without the local - notice required In other cases of speolal legislation."

This seotion of the Constitution was re-adopted e$Zeotive January 20, 1927, and the above provlslong was ohanged to read as follows:

"And the legislature may also provide for the funmatfon of eohool districts by general laws.* -

After this ~onstltutloual provisions was changed the 14% Legislature in 1933 passed a speoial aot, provl~ding for $he fOrmat&ion of a oouuty-wide oozmon sohool dlstrlot in Kln- .ney County on a majority vote of the qualified voters of said oouuty, abolishing existing sohool distriots and providing ior the op.eration of said dlstriot. In Fritter v. West (T.C.A. 1933) 65 S.W. (2) 414, this speolal sot was held 'unoonstltu- .$:oual, the Court stating:

*It is clear that, by eliminating from the Constitution the provision that school districts oould be formed by speoial law, It was Intended that such distrlot be oreated by general laws.

rrFurt.hennore, the oonstitution now pro- vides a speoirio manuer in which sohool dla- trlcts may be formed, that ls,.by general law. This would exclude the formation of school districts in any other ~aaMer than that expressly provided -ior in the oonatitu- tion.T* * *v

'5. B. Ho. 542, being a speoial law and repugnantto seotion.~.Artiale 7 and geotion 56 of Article 3,&f our State

Const$tutlon, i'unoonstituional and

void."

In Brownfield v. Tongate, ( :?C. A. 1937) 109 S.W. (2) 352, the 44th Legislature bad passed a T%lll validating the action of the Connty Board of Sohool Trustees in Terry County *3 Honorable Lee Presnell, I&y 5, 1939, Page 3

In detachinr: thirteen sections fro= theRed Onion Common Sahool District and atteching it to the Union Independent School District in Terry County under and by virtue of Mticle 27421 or Article 2742m. In holding such act to be unconstitutional the court stated:

"Since under its provision this act ap- plies to Dimmitt and Terry Counties only and oould never have atfeoted any othera, we oon- elude Senate Bill No. 19 was a looal law. The Legislature $8 peraltted to provide for the formation of sohool dlstrlote by general laws only, aonstltotion Artiole 7 Seation 9, and not by epeoial laws, henod we are of the opin- inn that the 'legislature was without authority to validate the order of the Sohool Board of

~. We are of the opinion that when Article 5 Seation 56, and Artlole 7 Seation Sof the Texas Constitution are oo~strukd together, the Legislature ia without authority to ohsnge the boundaries of a common aohool disttiiot by epeoial or looal law.

Very truly your8 By (signed) %eoll C. C&u&k Ceoil C. Gammaok 'Assistant 'Assistant Wl'ORX?EYGENRRALOFTEXAS