OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS **AUSTIN**

Honorable Lee Freenell Oouuty Attorney 3YpahurCounty Oilmel?,

Tsxas Dear 

### Slrr May 5, 1989

f your letter **or** April of this Department
the authority, e boundaries of
the Texas Coastltutlon proqegulatlng the ma~gement of publio aohools, the building & repding or sohool houses, and the raising of money for such purposes; *And in all other oases where a general law can be made applloablo,~no+l~o,~~ or speoial law shall be enaotedlHonorable Lee Presnell, Kay 5, 1939, Page 2

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

"And the legislaturemay 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 legislaturemay also provide for the funmatfon of eohool districts by general laws.* After this ~onstltutloualprovisions 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- .neyCounty 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 oonstitutionnow provides a speoiriomanuer in which sohool dlatrlcts may be formed, that ls,.by general law. This would exclude the formation of school districts in any other ~aaMer than that expressly provided -iorin the oonatitution.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 CountyHonorable 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 unconstitutionalthe court stated:

"Since under its provision this act applies to Dimmitt and Terry Counties only and 

### oouldneverhave atfeotedany othera,we oonelude Senate Bill 

### No. 19 was a looal law.The Legislature$8 peralttedto provide for the formation 

### of sohooldlstrloteby generallaws only,aonstltotion Artiole 7 Seation9, and not by epeoiallaws,henodwe are of the opininn that the 'legislature was withoutauthority to validatethe order of the SohoolBoard of ~.

We are of the opinionthatwhenArticle 5 Seation 56, andArtlole 7 Seation 

### Sof the TexasConstitutionare **oo~strukd** 

### together,the Legislatureiawithoutauthorityto ohsngethe boundariesof a commonaohooldisttiiot by epeoial or looal law. Very 

### truly **your8**



### By (signed)%eoll C. C&u&k

CeoilC. Gammaok 'Assistant

Wl'ORX?EYGENRRALOFTEXAS