PRICE DAXIEL ATTORNEY GENERAL 

AUUTIN 11. -lwxAn 

December 3, 1949 

Bon. Jack C. Altares opinion lo. v-954. 

County Attorney 

Johns on C aunt y 

Cleburne, Texas 

Re : The rpplioability OS 

compulsory school attenddsnce laws to chlldren who are seventeen 

and have not completed 

Dear sir: the ninth grade. 

We refer to your Inquiry Srcm which we quo-, 

in substance, aa follows: 

“Article 2892, V.C.S. and Article 297, 

V.P.C., reqube every child In the State who 

18 7 years and not more than 16 pears OS age 

to attend public aohoola in the district of’ 

hls residence for not less than 120 days annually . ~rtiole 2893 subd. 5, v.c.s., and 

Article 298, subd. (ej, V.P .C ., exmpts a 

ohlld from school attendance who 18 more 

than 16 :years OS age vho has satlsfactoPl1~ 

oompleted the work of the ninth grade and 

whose services are needed for the support 

of a perent, et cetera. 

“The quertlon here presented in whether 

or aot 8 child who la 17 fears (or any age 

ever 16 yew8) and vho hea not satlsirotoalL~ 

oapletod the work of the ninth #?&IO i8 l abject to ooapulroy rohool rttentlrnoe.m 

The civil Law, Artlola 2892, and the oorrespoadlng penal law, Article 297, read as follows: 

“tvery chLld in the gtate who io reren 

years and not more than sixteen years & age 

ahall. be mqulred to attend the publio sohools 

in the dlatrlet of its residence, or In some 

other district to which It may be transferred 

aa provided by lav, for a period of not less 

than one hundred and twenty days. The period 

OS compulsory school attendance at each school 

shell begin at the opening OS the sahool term 
Hon. Jack C. 4ltarO8, Page 2 (V-954) 

unless otherwlse authorized by the district 

school trustees and notice given by the trustees prior to the beginning of such school 

term; provided that no child shall be mquired to attend school for a longer period than 

the maximum term of the public school in the 

district where such child reaiddea.’ 

The civil statute, subdlvialon 5 OS Arttile 

2893, and the corresponding penal law, Article 295, subdivision (e), as amended by House Bill No.630, Aota 49th 

Legislature, 1945, read as follows: 

“The Sollowlng classes of children are 

exempt from the requirement of this law: 

,I 

. . . 

“(0) Any child more than sixteen (16) 

years of age who ha8 aatiafaotorlly completed the work of the ninth grade, and whose 

services ara needed in support of a parent or 

other person standing in parent81 relation to 

the child, msy, on presentation of proper evidence to the county superintendent, be exempted from further attendance et school.” 

It is an elementary rule OS contruction that 

a statute which is part of an existing scheme OS legiolotion upon a given subject must ba 80 coastrued ao to 

bring It in harmony with all other provlalons, ii the 

language of such statute is fairly ausceptlble OS ouch 

interpretation. Bishop v. Houston I.S.D., 119 Tex.403, 

29 S.W.2d 312 (193mlso to note that 

Articles 2892 through 2898 of the Civil Statute8 ad APicles 297 through 300 of the Penal Statutes, prior to 

their codification in Revised Statutes of 1925, each had 

their origin in the compulsory education law of 1915. 

R.~.402, Acts 34th Leg,, 1915, pp, 92 to 98. 

Back in 1917 when the law, which is now codiSled as Article 2892, V.C .S., provlded that every child 

OS eight years and not more than fourteen years old 

should be required to attend public school, et cetera, 

it was held that a child who attained the age of Sourteen years before the beginning OS the public free 

schools in his district was not subiect to the DrOVislons of that compulsory attendance-law. Butler v. 

State, 81 Tex.Crim.167, 194 S.W. 166 (1917mct 
Hon. Jack C. Altaraa, Page 3 (V-%4) L 

OS 1925 (S.B.49, 44th Leg., p.409) aubatltuted ‘aeven 

years Tor “eight yearaN and “alxteen yearaw rm *rowteen yeara. ’ Applying that deolalon to Artlole 2892, 

V.C.S., aa aended la 1935, It would follov that a 

ohlld who attalna the age of sixteen yeara heiore the 

beginning o? the pub110 aahoola In hla dlatrfot la not 

subject to the prorialona o? the capnlaory attemdanae 

1aV. 

o? age?’ 

Uhen la a ohlld “not more than a~o;omma 

We quote iroot Glbam (1. roo~lt, l 8 

99 P a o .333: 

*In one aenae a child la alxteen yeara 

of age until it ia seventeen; 00 ala0 It la 

aixtaen when it la eighteen; but, In the trus 

aenae, It la alxteen and over whenersr it hoe 

passed beyond the first day of the alxteenth 

amlvera~ of lta birth. Hed it been the lntentlon to Include children up to the tlma they 

reach their seventeenth blxWxlay, the General 

Assembly would naturally htive said %hlldren 

under aeventeen years OS age’ . . . A child la 

sixteen years OS age on the alxteenth amlmraary OS hi8 birth, arid thereafter ia over alxteen yura of age . . .’ 

unmr v. State, 57 Tu.Crlm.385, 122 S.U.875 

exempt.1 

Y 

At rlrst blush, l ubaectlom 2 or Artlale 2893 

from compulsory l ttendanoe l uy child more than 

sixteen 16) years OS age who hoe . . . oarpleted . . . 

ninth grade, and whore aervloea are needed In 8uppoH of 

a parent, et oetera,,” appears to oonillot 81th @Wale 

2892 rod alao to amount to an exemption fra a uomlition 

which do er not l xlat . 

Eovever, a oloae uulaatlen of &tlole 2892, 

and In the light of the deolalon in Putlef v. gtate, aupro, ~111 reveal that it prorider that mre a ohlld hoe 

not l ttalued tha age of alxteen ymarm kfon the kglnning of the pub110 aohoola in hla dlrtriet, ho la aubjwt 

to the provlalorra of that caopulaorJ l ttaadame law, sod 

"rho11 be required to rttomd . . . pablio aohoola . . . 
Boa. Jeer C . Altono, page 4 (V-95b) 

pub110 l ohool . . .” It doer not for exmple, l uth o r la e 

or per&it l ohlld l ttalnlng the age of sixteen yeera any 

tl8e otter the begioaing OS the public school in hla dlatrlot to l leot within that OWr8nt aohool year not to go 

to rohool. 8uoh g ohild mat attend l ohool tee the time 

required or .authm%aed by Artiole 2892, ualoaa he oaea 

within one of the uemptloaa in Artlole 2893. 

Under aubdlvlalon 5 o? Article 2893, quoted 

hemlnebove, auoh a ohlld who haa attained the age of 

al%teen dur 

i”f 

the aohool year, who her completed the 

vork of the n nth grade, aad whoae~ aarvloea era needed 

In ma port 

P 

of a parent or other peraon atandlng in parant8 relation to him, may, In aooordanae with the proviifon&hereof, ba exempted from the 9rovlaloua eS Al& 

Aa thus oaatrued l obdlvlalon 5 of Article 

2893, r.o:fL, aad aubdlrialon (0) of Article 298, V.P.C ., 

hoe rpplloatlon Od urnlng. It will not be presumed 

thrt the Leglaletw emoted a nanlnglaaa or ueeleaa 

law. 

Aooordingl~, it la oup oplf~10a that e child TIIO 

attaina the age oi aUtoen or over before the beginning 

ot the pub110 free roboolr in hla dLatl%ot la not aubjeet to the provlaima .o? the papulaory attendawe lawa, 

whethop or not he bar o-let& the 0-k of the ninth 

6Frda. But a child who attrlaa the age of airteen a?- 

ter the beglnnlng of the pub110 free aohoola in hla dlatrlat la rubjeot to the prwlaloaa oi the oapulaory atteadance 16~ for thrt aohool period, udlraa he hra been 

ted 

@w 

troa it0 ev%alona In aeoorbmoe with Article 

2 , l crbdlvlaZon $ , V. C. S. 

For purpoaea of thla oplalon we hrre rammed 

that the exe 

T 

io ua 

of Arttlole 28 

topo In d l uMlrlaloaa 1 thmugh 4 

3 era not involved in tha submitted qwatioa. 

A ohlld rho attalna the 8 e OS alxteen 

or over beSore the beglmlng o $ the pub110 

free aohoola In hi8 dlatrlot la not aubjeot 

to the provlalona OS the compulsory attendance lst, whether or not he hoe oompleted 

the work OS the ninth grade. Art.2892, et 

seq., V.C.S., Art.297, et aeq-, V.P.C.; 

utler v. State 8l Tex.Crlm.167, 19 3-U. 

. But a chlid who attains the age o? 
Hon. Jaok C. Altaraa, pege 5 (V-ff%) 

sixteen after the begInnIng m? the public 

free school8 Ln hia distrlot IS rubjeot 

to the provlslot~ of the 00m$ala0~ attendanoe law for that rohool 

has been exempted fxa Its 

ybag~~lga~; 

aooordanee vith Art1016 08 9y , rubdlvl8laa 

5, V.C.8. 

Your0 vem truly, 

ATTORNBYGWlRALOF!PEXAS 

CEO :mw BY 

Cberrkr 1. Olllron 

A8818tant 

APPROVZD