### 589

OFFICE 

### OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS **AUSTIN**
**-CL-**

**--**


### Dr. Jae. G. Ulmr, Prrsldont Boar4 of Ragcurt StateTMahara Collegrs of Tsras Drimkill

Hot.1 Aurtla,Texas
Dear sir: Gpfnlon 80. O-1735

r 16 smmarily hislability, If 

### any, of 

### ln8truotor*r

6alary e ash001year remaina

cuetomLn th5.s

rupposltitiou8 presidents

of the rerious0au

### bloasundekr

the juriedfcrtlon **0r snts**  

### to nominateth6ir houltf at 

### a regular

Boardmesting,ana the tiona. aooeptr or rejrot8their mmlnaThere lm no writtsn contraat 

### onterm into batiwn 

### the institution and thr instruotora however,

ft ir nndsrrtood

thst the iastqaotor is being ragloyed

for the ourront 

### schoolya~.~ ~sbfoh 261.7 or the ~arilrsP civil 

### 8tabutaro? 1929 proridorr

the authority 

### and flrar Ohs &atlas 

### of the Board Of

### 590

Dr. Jas. C. W.mer, page 2

Pegants of the state teachers' colleges of Texas. This artlole empowers tke Board of Regents to employ and dischargepresidents,prinoipalsand taaohars, and to fix the salaries of persons so employed. The statutesrelating to state tenchars' collegesmake no other provisionsrelative to the emploment of teaohers, the details of employment being left to the discretion of the Board of Regents. It follows that the Board has the incidentaland laplied 'power

to enter into contractswith teachers or instructors,

subjeot to the rules of law governing contractsgenerally.

An oral contract for the employmentof the teacher from September, 1939, through June 10, 1940, inclusive,Is valid and occxlplea the saae status as a written contract in so far as its validityunder substantiverules of law Is oonoerned. The fact that the statutes give the Board of Regents the power to employ and disohargs teachers does not Indicate that the Board has the authority to discharge sumaerlly a teacher with \rhom they have contracted for a given period of time. Under general rules of law relating to personal service oontraots.en employer sag not dischargehis eaployeeduring the period of employment agreed upon, except for good cause or with the consent of eaployea. See 29 Tex. Juris. 28, and authoritiescited in note 10.

Grounds for dismissal of an employeewhich constitute "good cause* are listed at page 30 **of** Vol. 29 of Tezes Jurlsprudenoe, and the authorities therein cited illustratethat eaoh case is judged largely from the standpointof the fndividualfact situationpresented. If an instructoror teaoher Is found guilty of disloyalty to the advAnistrative head of the institutionin whloh he is teaching, and if the disloyalty is such as rill amount to good cause for dismissal, the State vaxld be under no liability for his salary for whaterer balance of the school year remained at the time his employlaent was tsrvninated.

The question of whether or not the instruotor'a

disloyaltyor misconduct is such as will constitutea good cause for dismirsal dependsDr. Jas. G.‘Ulzer,pace 3

upon each individualoese which we oannot undertake end presents an Issue to pass upon. We mentlon in passlug that there Is considerabledlfferenoa between disloyalty to the admInistrative head of the institutionin whloh the instructoris teeohlng, end disloyalty to the Board of 

### Regents, with whioh the oootreotof employment Is **entered** into. Questions thus arlsing properly come within the jurlsalotlonof the Board of Regents of the state teaohers' colleges,providing the action on the part of the lnstruotoror teaoher is such as till **justify** his lmneddatedismissaland the refusal on the part of the board to perform further the oontract made.

RC:jm Yours vary truly