0 OFFICE OF THE AlTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS L 

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 Lsgthat .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 diatrict 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 lllegal 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 operated 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 trsnsportation 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 artiale 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 distrlcta conuerned or on petition aigued by a majorIty of the quallfled voters of the district and 

eubjeot to the approval of the County Supsrlntendant, State Syperlntendent, and Joint Legislative 

Advlaory Cammltteo, the tmuteer, Of a dlatriot 

whlohmaybeunable Co&talna aati8faotory 

suhool may truufor its sntlre aeholaatS.0 enrollment, or any number of grades thereof, to a oonveuient 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 neobeaary 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 enrollment under Artlale VIII changes the home district of the 

pupils. WI are of the opinion that for the purpose of payIng 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 
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 agreement” . The bllI providea for the trauafer of the eentiree 

onrol&ent. We belleve that it mama what it aaya. FOP 

ptwal aid purpoae8, therefore, the reeelving dlrtrlot la the 

hoam dlatrlot of the students transferred under Artlob VIII. 

We do not thin)F that the identity of the sending dlatrlot 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 independent 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 diatrlct 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 transferred 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 afflrmafive. 

Very truly your8 

ATTORWEX GILRERAL OF !lXXAS 

5%3/a