TEIE ATTOKNEY GENERAL 

OF TEXAS 

Au- 11. - 

PRICE DANIEL 

‘4ITORNEY GENERAL 

August 22, 199 

Bon. L. A. Woods oplnlon lo. v-889. 

state Superintendent 

Department of Education Re: The directory or mandatory 

Austin, Texas nature of the provision In 

H.B. 651,' 51st Leg.; that 

school authorities should 

have the duty to suspend 

or expel members of fraterDear Dr. Woods: nltles and sororl*ies. 

Your request for an opinion relating to Section 4 of B.B.: 651, Aots oi the Slot Legislature, 1949, 

which provides that it should bo the duty o? school authorltler to suspend or expel from school any pupil rho 

ir a member of a fraternity, sorority or secret society, 

presents the following questIon: 

"Does this provision make It mandatory 

that the school authority suspend or expel 

stndenta who are members OS iraternltlrs, 

sororltlrs or secret sooleties, or is It discretloqry vlth the sohool peatom to mu!- 

pnd or up.1 rush rtrrdent? 

E.B. fo. 651, Aetr ot the 51rt k 

ch. 429, p. 803, ir an Aot eesignod primarl f J to prehlbit 

., R.S. 1949, 

public wahoo1 fratomitirs, sororltisa and secret aocletlrm ir all pub110 rahmls~er this Stata, uoept anlvorrltlor auP oollo 

orgmiratlens. !I 

08. Se&Ion 1 of the Act prohibits such 

et&Ion 2 definea suoh organlutlms to 

bo.thtso oomposed vholl 

g 

or in pad ot publlo rohool pupi111 or publla rohoelr *low Dhi mnk of oolloge or dunlo* college rhioh rr*ok to porpmlato tboM.lvw by taking 

ln additional umborr -08 the psplls onrolled in such 

SCHOOL 0ri th0 k816 0r the ae~irioa 0r it8 rrerber8hip 

rather than upon the -8, rhoior of any ?upll In the 

school who Is quallried by the ruler OS the school to 

fill the speoial aim6 of the organlaatlon. Section 3 

cleclarrs a publio rchool fraternity, sorority or secret 

society to be an organlmtlon lnlmlcal to the public good, 

and Se&Ion 4, vhloh relates directly to the question presented, provides as Iollovr: 
:f<,i i 

i L 

I 

Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (V-9) 

"It should be the duty of Sohool Dlroctom, Boards of Education, School Instroctors 

and other corporate authority managing and 

controlling any of the Pub110 Schools o? this 

State vlthln the prorlslonr of .tUs Act, to 

suspeml or expel iron the school under their 

aomtrol any pupil of such sahool who shall be 

o12remalaamsmbor of, or who ahall join or 

pomlso to join, or who shall baaore plo 

2 

l d 

to boom.4 a member of, or vho r-hall rello t 

any other person to join, proalso to join, or 

be pie ed to become ~a member of any such 

Public 3 chool Fraternity, or Sodoz4ty, or 

Seoret Society. Providing that the above restrictions rhall not be construed to a 

r 

ly to 

agenclwJ ?Qr Pub110 wel?me, vim FJoy ceuts, 

RI-Y Olrl Rtwmrvos, DeMolay RUnbow girls, 

hnkleu Cl&m, and Sohoiarrhlp Soeleties, 

and ether kindriNl edmeational organisatlons 

sponsored by the State or Batillnal education 

authorlt5.es." 

Section 5 of the Act under consltlemtl~ mkos 

it unlavful for any person not in any such school to solleit any pupil to join or pledge suah organlsatlon. 

S~otlcpr 6 ai the Aat contains the penalty olause. 

In 3 Suth8rlaad Statutory Conrtruotlon (3rd 

M. 1943) 79, it 18 SallP 

"It CM be stated a8 a general proposltlon that, as regards the question of mandatory and directory operation, the courts 

vi11 apply that construction which best carries into offset the purpose o? the statute 

under consldera.tlou. To this end, the 

courts my lnqulra into the purpose behind 

the enactment of the legislation requlrlng 

oonstroctlon as one of the firat steps in 

treating the problem. The ordinary meaning 

o? language my be overruled to effoetuate 

the purpose o? the statute, 

n 

. 0 ‘ It la always to be presumed that 

the legislature was motivated by some purpose 

In the enactment of a statute, 80 that l? one 

construotlon would render It lneffeotlve, the 

other should manl?estly be adopted." 
Hon. L. A. Wooda, Page 3 (V-889) 

Thlr $8~8 a&hoi states In conmotion with 

statutes lmposlng orlmlnal sanctlons or penalties that 

"the rule ha8 been stated with particular clarity that 

'Where a leglslatlvo provlslon Is followed by a penalty for failure to observe It, the provl8lon 18 mandatory.: This may be seen as a part of the gpeT;up;r:- 

lem 0s lmplled oo~oqu8no48 0r 10 lalatl0n. 

laud Statutory Conrtrrrotlon (3rd 86; 1943) 110. - 

There 18 no absolute test or lafalllble rule 

by tich a ranbrtocy rtatute or provlrlon my be dlstln- 

@shed from one whi.ah Is merely directory. In each 

ca84 the question Is on0 of rtatutory conrtruotlon to 

be judlclally determined aooordlng to the intent of the 

Leglcllaturo frms a oonsld4ration of the entire rtatuto, 

Its nature, ob 

i 

dot end rubject matter, 

ll~result'iram a 

red the OMEOquences that v tlcular con8tructlon. 

Burton v. lct3ulre 3 S.W.24 576'&. Clr. App. 1927) 

??'dB tQn 

iayle v 

Shire 41 S Vi24 238 (Coma. App. 19h); 

?Ale&der 75 i.U.24'706 (Ter. Clv. App. 1934); 

9 Tex. Jur. 33, &tutoS, i300.14. 

Ia the ease of FBR~ v. Lees Bror. 9.9. Co., 

3 So.2d 632 (La. Sup. 194r), the Court stated: 

'The wore fshould is the imperfect 0s 

the vord '83~11'; it 18 the -4t4m 0s th4 

*or4 'shazkl'; 'e&ml4 I‘ u8ea 88 8n amctliary vepb either ia thr part tense c oondltlunal prorent. It8 ryamymir '0 t'; Both 

of these Vord6 alearly Imply obllga "$ Ion.' 

The primary purpose of the Act In question is 

to prohibit a public roheo2 fraternity, rororlty or seoret society and It $8 evident that the Act contemplates 

being merely dlreotry. 

In vie8 Of the feregolng ml88 of construotlon, 

and con614erlag ths Aot a8 8 wholo, Its nature and object, 
Ron, L. A. Woods, page 4 (V- 8&) 

the only rearonable constxwctlon that aaa be placed on 

Section 4 18 that the tar- thereof are nndatmy. 

The provisions of Section 4 of H.B. 651, 

Acts of the Slat Legislature, 1949, relating 

to the 4XptiBi~ BP 8UB~OZl‘iBll Of pupil8 p4Ptlclpatlng In secret societies, sororltl4s, 

and ?rat4rnltles 0s public schools 0s the Ngh 

8aheol level and below are Pandatory. 

Yours very truly, 

ATTORBRY MfKBRAL OF TBXAS 

-L 

ml%011 wal&wp 

Aseletut