OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AlJsmu



### e c. MAUII
-.- Eay Sl..1939

L!ocortrble

T. 1..Trhible Titet !.ssisraut

### titate SPperfatsndant 

### Austin,%xar
Dear Sir:

30 are in reseipt of you m&bait the latter ot Y be0 S&oole em4 **request 0**  prmmtsd.
Ur. Edeter* part a6 r0l;i0m

oax~legal3.ybe &oM.~

19217,the oountg board of of UoLerrma County attempted to oreate M independent 

### ewhooldistrlot out of the )Dst&odkatSioeeterritory irr*am %y reaolutlon.

Viebare been unable tQ find any at&t&to authorh,iag a eouaty board ot sdwol trwteee to orests bl), ini\rpeaQant8eZmc~l dtetrlot aa 

### distingubhedrremthe 

### iorrorporet~on 0r fk

### tbt3a

arfst-Bf~n.T. Y. Triable. May 51, lOSO, Page t!

**ing oonnop** crohool**dlstrlot** sroept Article e74Zf, uhloh requires **a** vote of the orlglnal dletrlot to be divided, a vote 1x1the district to be oreated to assume a proportionate part of the lndebtedmes of the orielnal dletrlot nnd crleorequire8 a ralldatin& sot by the Legielature before suet lndependent distrfot shall be valid. It further provlderrthct a dlstriot shall not be oreated oontainlng leas thannine square mllee. Ho ahowing ha8 

### beenmade that there wa11any attmpt to oomply with the prorlciolraot Artlole 27&Z, but we will aaaume that any validatlw aot paseed by the bgimlature and 

## l pplloableto the aotlon of the @our&y board of **trustem in**  this instanoe would tallbate such t;tz whether the 

### provlslonsof M%iole 294.W **were** oon@led with

. **Acts** lQS7, 4Sth Legislature, House Bill 1091, Ch. &, 

### 0. 696 (nor

### 00diried a8 &tlole 88l&-li) pmoidaa aa r0um8:

*An hot **validating** the ore&on and **organization** of indapaudent sohool distriota; 

### val%emtlagthe**aatloxu** 

### oi any County Board of Trustees with **nroronoe** to,**the** arutl0n 0r 80hool dl6triot8 out or **uurthm** sndependent sahooldietrlot: making thla Act applloable to **oertaln** eountleo'aoeordlng to the last preoedlug l?ederalCexu~us~ pr~rfdiag that no part or thla Act mhan arr0ot any <lg&ion 

### nowpending,and that 

### oalraota pas&ted

### by fm rirth8 *joray or the county Board 

### or Trtm+rr ahti bg valid, an4 deolmrlng an emargenoy. l3?3 IT EffACTi#l

BY TfIgLXGISTATURX OP TEE S'fATXOF Tl%AF: wSsotlon 1. That the aotlona of any County BOUTI or ?kuatees in'thic State for the pupoae ot oreatlng indo

### pendanteohool distrlate am hereby in all things ralldated a~ though they had been duly ub Iem11~ established in the iirrt lnstanoe.
'sea. la. This Aot shall ap~1.gonly to thoie'aouuU.eshaving a population or ninety-eight thousand (88,000) to one huudred.thousand (lOO,OOO), aooordlng to the last preceding Pederal Cenou8, and that no part of this **dot** &all arteot any litigation oi any dlstrlot now peudlnig. 

### %eo. lb, The act8 or the County Board of TmNttem shall not be vall& exoept those a&s that are pa8sed br iour-rirths 26i3i)ority or-the Board itk3dr.., ,_.

l+a. T. Y. Trimbld, 2iay31, 1959, P8ge S

An exminatlon 

## orthe ?ederal Censua of Texas counties as published ItiXezas Almenao 19340 dlsoloses that the only county in zexae having a population wlthlnthe brackets la the above 

### statuteie b:cLeznanCounty whloh had a population In 19X.1 car98,682. it Is interesting to note that the Gemus report8 of 1920, 1910, 1900 and I090 as published in the texas Almanac doerr not show that any othor oounty in this atate hte ever had a popula

## tion between iQB,OOO

### end 100,000 except L!cL%nnanCounty.

It is roll eatabllahed that when a law le 80 drawn that it applle8 only to one oounty, an6 can never apply to **any** but thir one oouuty in **any** possible event, 

### thelaw18 **BpeOial** and not general although enacted 1x1the form of a general law. V. Bobbltt 

### (Con.orh p. City oi 7t:uorth 1931) 36 S. b. (2d) 470; Bexar Couhty v. Tyaan (T.C.A. 1.834 P 69 S. aq.(2d) 193. Ordlnarlly curative .statutes 

### areby their 

### veryuature intended to act upon past 

### tranaactions 

### and are therefore wholly retroaotive. Hunt County t. Rains County 

### (T.C.A.1925) 9 9. K. (&%I 64% Slnae E. B. 1091 oan only 

### applyretroaotivaly no other county oan ever oome 

### unbr it8 tam, and it la therefore a speolal sot. Staoh 

### was the hold9 .Court or Civil Appeal8 In Brownfield v. Tongate (lOS9) or JIB 09 S. K. (26) SW, with mmmemc0 to a 6imllar validating 

### l ot. The legislature is without authority to oreate a 8ohool dlstrlot by opeoial law and Is therefore without authorIty.to valleata an 

### Qrderof a **oounty** so&o1 board orcutlng a **88hool** di8triot by 

### a speolal aot. Const. hrt. 7, Sec. 3; Coast. Art. 3, Seo. 86gFritter v. West 

### (T&A.) 65 S. 2'.(24) 414; Brouniiel4 va. Tongat (T.C.A. 1937) 109 S. ii.(Ed) SSS; Wood v. Uarfa Independent Sohool District (T.C.A. 1QSS) 123 S. W. (2d) 429.

tjnderthe r&established authorltlen of this %ato, we have 

### conoludea that 

### theaction oi the oounty board of 8ohool trustees at Lolannan County In oraatlng the Llethodlet

### Orphanego into en Independent Sahool District was wlthout authority in law and therefore void,and the aotlon of the Legislature in 

### l tteuptiBg to validate such aot is unoonstltutloua1 end thererove **void.**

krtiole 2901, ilevisedCivil Statutea, 192l5,p;ovldea 

## rdi0ws:
"Bvory child in thie Stete of schoiaaatloage shall be pexmltted to attend the pub110 free sohools of that district or independent dlstrlot in whloh it resides at tho tine it applies for adalaslon, notwitbrw t&&it has been enuusratsd elsewhere. or may have ettanded school elsewhere part of the 

### year.” 

### asBon. 2. r. Trlmble, biay 51, 19S9, Pa&e 4

Other statutea provide that 811 Ohlbben or 6OhOlaQtiO age ahall be enumwated in the soholaetlo oenaue itithe diatrlct in ;.hichthey reside,.and we are 

### lnfonmd that the ohildren of the Letbodlet 3rphanago in ;.aOGhave heretofore been enumerated aa rckidlzigin the .ieooIndepcndeut Lot001 i&trfat except for the na?;oolyear 193+39.

irehave been unable to 

### findacy case8 In 

### 'ieras passing upon the question of whether a ohlld living in en orphans home In a reeldent of 

### thesobool 

### aistriatfn which the **ho&e**Ie loaated. Other &rIsdIotiona **have niade** dI8tlnotIon8 depending upon whether the lnstltutlon or orphans home oaring for the oblldbrenle main**tained** by the Stats or raoeives an appropriation Sron the State I-orthat purpose. se do not undarotand that suob Is the case with refsrenae to the &et&odist Orphanage in &ago.

We **think** the weight of authority and better rule i6 that ohlldxw **lItIn** in an **0iphuu** home within the limltl)ot **a** 60hool dlctrlct are real~ents or that distrlot 80 as to entitlo them to the benefit of a publio free sobool education in the aoboo& **or.auab dlatrlot.**  Suoh uas the holding in elrtz 

### vu.hard OSEduoatlon 0r 

### Setiermm county ~(xp.1935) 90

## a. if. (t!dlaAt; Grand 

## LedmxooF of W. Va. v. Board of Eduoatlon of **Independent**tohool Dietriot ot El&n, (198E) 90 **W.**Va:8, 110 S. t. 440 SO Ad..& 1098, &!!a. 1098; CxnIn va. Balker (gY. 19243)2 S. yi.(id) 654; Salem In&. Sob. Dia. ve. Klol (Iowa 1928) 22lw.o, 619~

### hmhbyvqBoard

### or **Eduoation** 

### (Su Ct. Ill. 1924**f ’**  Ct. Ill.~XQl5) 114 19.I. 201 Logrrdont. 

### Jonea (Sup.

143 ii,8. 5b. It Is not matorlal that the property of the home may be exempt from tax&Ion. ~8. Board of Mucation or Ina. Grand Lo&p IOOF of RI.Va. Zoh. Diat. of itikine(1928) 90 V. VI. 5, 110 b. E. 440, 18 A.L.R. 10.002~ Logston v. Sone8, 135 FZ.E.'56.
Xo raota have **been**presented whereby we Illight determlno just bow It is contemplated that the 

### equlpnrsnt referred to In your letter is to be turned over to the ViaooIndepandent Sohool Diotrlot or

### whatirrangnment or agreement may **be** under ooneIderatlon by the board oi trustdee. Ke, therefore, exprese no ppialon upon this 

### phaseor your guestion.

Vieare of tbe opinion that the lmatee ot the Itethodlet 

### Orphanagein rSaooreside in the Waao Independent School Dlstrlat and l uoh ohildren a6 reeldents are entitled to reoelve a public free sohool eduaatfon In.the schools maintained by **tba.W ’** **aao Indo**  pmdent School Distriat. Yours Very truly

ccc:E - ATT.CRNEYOgEX'J. OF T'!ZAS

COMMIITEE ~ATT0XW.Y GE-NEFihl 01 CnAWyI”