**OFFICE OF**  **THE ATTORNEY**  **GENERAL OF**  **TEXAS**

**~- AUSTIN** 

**Xey L7,**  **1939**

RonorableEortimerBrown Executive Secretary Te8Oher lletir~nt S~sten **of** TOXW motin, TOXIM

gplflr ~ObQol'telrP?

Rs oaae ttmre lu doubt a8 to **uld** be **ooneidmed thd**  offeotfvo qpl~isd **to** Sootion **8, SWmeotion**  .A5t.,gqa.Ld

Lt **be** within **the** povmr af the Rosrd of ,Tz!ustsoq.-Qf 

### thoTollllhe~

pzetdsemmt syutcm to pyuo upon the adaor, an*, if sc+, *hat limltatione mnald tWBoa@ h8vo to ebmevo in neP* the dao?HonorableXortlmer Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 2

"(4) If there is doubt as to whether or not a persjn.hes beaome a taaaher if he seoures e oontraut to teach during the summer as soon aa the employing sohool opens its next regxllarschool sew, would it be within the power of the Board of Trustees of the Teaoher Retlrelaent System to pees upon that point?"
Seotlon 3, Subsection 5, of the TeeoherRetirement **Aot (i&s**  of Forty-FifthLegislatiqe, 1937, chap. 470, p. '1178)

provides as iollowcl:



### am~ae rho has taught In the Stat-0 ot Texas in **aOOOl'dUZO0** with thetOflDS **Or** this Aot, 

### but **rho** 

### JIB not fn **Oerrioe** 

### dUr3ng the year in whloh the hot **beoamos**sS

### iqotlve,shall, ii ho bsoomas a teaohm, w$y two (8)yoan of the datsnoh

A& boeomos, effeotlvq, and it ho ooatinuos u suoh for l 

### mrlod or **rite** (S) eonaeoutiro.-am. **be** entitle&to reoalv~ orodit and rwalting bonefltr rOT prior 8er~Ioe as **provided** for in this Aot."
Sootion 8 or the Teaoher Retimmmt Aoi
the rdlioring prorision:

l+ + ëThe ltotlromnt system 86 onated @hall **bo** establiahrd as of Jhly 1, USI.' 

### eolltdns

tkotiin 1 provides, in 

### part,as follmfsr

"(3) 

### *Toaoher*'ahall man aperson employed on a full-tias, re&ular 8ahry basis by board8 Of oommon sohool dlstriOts, boards of lnd~pendont sohool distrfots, 00onty 80h00v boards, 80ti-t 30d or Trustoe8, Btato Board or EduoatlOn .aad Btate Dopartmont or Eduoation, boards orHonorableMort5mor Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 3

regents or aqlleges and uuiverslties, and any other legally oonetitutedboard or agency of en educational Institutionor organl%ation supported wholly or pertly by the State. In all cases of doubt, the Rietirememt

Board of Trustees, hereinafter defined, shall determine whether a person is a teacher as defined in this Aot. A teacher shall mean a person rendering service to organized pub110 eduaation in profoeeioneland buelneee adrPlnietratlon and ~, supervision and in lnstruotioa, in pub110 eohoole 88 defiaod 'ia eubeootlon ($3)

of thle eootion.
"(81 iSe~loo~ shdllmean sonioe se 

### a tsaobur as deegribed in.Subseotion (8) or thle eeotion. 

### *(SS)QohoolYear* shallmeanthe year**beginniry** 

### onor aboutBoptomber

### lst and andlng oa or about Aqpet Slet.* 

### Sootion15 oi 

### theTeaoher Retlrezmnt Aot provide;
**as** fbllore:
vh0 ~IIUXMZSMO or thf8 -88~2-0 to

ths people 

### tanor, oroatoe 

### (UIemeaoa

### oy andan imporatin pubLfo 

### nooesslty that the **Constitutional** Rule **reguirlna** bills to be read on three **several** days lnraoh Ewes be, and the leme is hare

### bf **suspended,** aad that this 

### Aot 

### takeet-- 

### r00tand b0 in r0200 r-5 ad aftor it8 

### paeeage,

and it, is so onaoted. m

provides:Art1010 III, Sootfon 39, of the Texas Constitution

-0 law paeeed by the Legislature, 

### l soept the CanomLAppmpriatlon Aot, shall take erreot or go Into roroo tantll nlne.ty(?p4

### daya after 

### the adjournment or the nSe~0n atrhiah it wae anaoted, unless in oan of ea emergemy, whiah e~orgenoymust be expressed in aHonorablexortimer Erow, May 17, 1939, Page 4

pr8aIUbl8

or in the body Or the Act, th8 Leglslature.shall,by a vote 0r twothirds of all the membbers elected to eaah House, otherwiss direat; said vote to be taken by yeas and nays, end antered upon the Journal."
The not8 at the and Or this Act eppeerhg at p-8 1197 of the General and Special Laws Of Texas, 1937# Regular Session, shows that this Aot was finallypassed by the House In adoptInS a Confer8nCe Committee Report on Xay 20, 1937, by a vote or 115 yeae, 6 nays; and passed by the Sanate by the 

### l

&ptlon of a Conferenoe Comittee Report oa Hey Bl, 1937, by a rote of.87 ysae and 1 nay. It la aleo ladioated that 

### thisAot 

### N approvedJane 9. 1959.

Yor varloua purposes three datme are of *rtauoolnoonstNlngthls Aat. That is, JbnoO,l9SP, the date upon whloh 

### thoAot 

### as am uiaotmont of the kgi8lattmo hoam dr00tiY0; July 1, 19s0, the date as or which the Rotlreaent systamwas ostabllshed; aml Septabor 1, 19939, being the bs&aiag f3r ths rint ash001 ysu, the dateupon whioh oertalnpmvleloaa of the Aot beau 

### operative.

Whea referringto .theeevarious 

### datos~ tno .&odelatum by apt 1aaguyrS $.%msay lMtaMo8 Sp~l&ll~ indloatod the 

### datewhloh was lntekded. Ybr exemplo~,..~~-8eotlon' S, Bubdirislon 1, whlsh protidoe that "all period who ars teaohus on the data 

### a! on~whioh the EWinrsnt ,Byskn le eetabllshedehall **beoomo memborm**  **am got.**  that **:&to, .otoi?,!**  ordinarily rhan 20r0dmg to Wptsmber 1 wm Aot *akm 

### or thsi?%~!mineOftho~#hodl ~~r~19S7-lQsW,or @me elm

### llar*xpree8lon; We reoogniu .thatla som8 lmturoes the Aot may mealy rrrer to tho ten -yoarF, or mm0 other. tom valoh(when taken to@harwlth its @ntext,:may ore8ta **same**smblgultyor **doubt,** hut In 

### Soetlon**S, 8ubeaotloa**  **8, uhero**  

### tho Act rorem 

### to Wm data 

### on uhioh this Aof 

### beoaes effeotlre?we **do** not think that la thle lnetanoothe oontut plainly requlree a'

### dlrr0rcmtnbmaiins

### thanthat exgreeeed.

In answer to your fleet 

### puestlon you are, tharefore, advised that the date upon

### uhiohSenate Blll Xo. 47 beoame effeotive, ss that term la ueed ln Saotlon S, Stabeeotlon 6, wee JQna QG,"lBS7. Cur anewar to this question renders itunneoeeearyto answer the third.

In your woond 

### uo8tloa

1 thti?d:p~::y&i?%o that itnight be tba opin on oiHonorable ~ortlmer Bmwn, May 17, 1939, Page 5

Xot b8oaMi efr8otiV8 within the provlsions'orSeotion 3, Subsection 5, on Se@tember 1, 1937, and In order to epeclfically dispose of the problem you hhve In mind we will assume that e teacher secured a contrectprior to June 9, 1939, with s public school that cells for his servioeeto begin ae soon as that school opens for the next regular school term.

Referring t0 S8CtiOn 1, Subsection 3, we note that there we two requlremnts sst out in the doiinltion of a teeaher. One or these requirtxmnte 18 that Wteaoherw shellmeen a pereon employed upon e full time, ro@ar eelary basis; and, eeoond, that a 

### *teaohershall 

### aeau 8 **parson** rendering service to **organized** pub110 l duoation la proroel lonal and bueineee administrationand 

### eupervlelon, aud 

### In lnetruotlon,in pub110 eohoole, as **defined** 

### inSubeeotlon 8 0r this 0aot1on.= We do not think that *mudsrlng 

### eon100 to organlsedpublio eduaatlona l eta., was lntondod to moan 

### that la 

### orderto 

### be a tsaohar, as defined la 

### thlaAa%,- that tbs pora~n *ould neoeesarllyhave to 

### be l t.that'tlmq

### ~rqtuoilyengsgodin euoheervlce,but 

### ratherth&-thla *mti.- elon 18 deeorlptlreor the type or work naosssaryto **bo** performad to qualify es a teacher. Thle oonet~otlon bsoomo& more **evident** when rarious wotlonr or tlmAot are 'aon

### l ldsrsd, euah as Seotlon S, Subeeotlon 1, whloh prpvldoe that all persons who are 

### teaahue on the date.aeat whloh the Betlrament **.beomse** lt le 9 etsm 1s aetabllshed shall **beooie mmberk,** 

QU $0 evident that it was lntendsdby euoh z 

### notion to reaoh every pereon 

### engagedin theproiseslonof 

### a k8oher, 

### when,la hot. tho **date** 

### yponwhlohthe Systa wae establishedwae July 1, and as 

### a matter 41 oomon kaowleQe very few teaoherewbre aotually sawed la rsndoring the eervloe deflnad 

### at that tlms.

Wo oen think of many lnetaaoeewhloh may raise seriousquaetione as to whether a 

### personwho la fully quaIifled to teaoh has aotuellybeen amployed as a teaohsr eo ae to be entltlad to the benefits of Seotlon 3, Subseotlon 5. In such oases dt doubt we think thst Seotfon 1, Subeaotion 3. plaoee it within the discretion of the Retiranent Board of **Truetees** to determine **dhether** such psreon is a teacher as defined In thie hct.

In answer'& your second and fourth questions, it is our opinion thst the Retlremnt Board of Trustees may determinewhether a pereon ha8 bean employed as a feeoher as contemplatedby Section SI Subeeotloa 6, OfHonorableMortfmer Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 6

the Teacher Retiremeat

### hot prior 

### to June 9, 1939,subjeot to the limitstion,however, you should recognize an a teaaher a porson who has secured e bona tide written aontract prior to June 9, 1939, thut calls lor his senloea ta begin as soon as that sohool opens for the next regular school term.

Yours very truly

**ATTOPNXX** GEXICRALOF T!SXAS



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