.Y 

. 

. 

THE AITORNEY GENERAL 

OFTEXAS 

AUSTIN. T-s 78711 

February 26, 1976 

The Honorable M. L. Brockette 

Commissioner of Education 

Texas Education Agency 

201 East Eleventh Street 

Austin, Texas 78701 

Opinion No. H-788 

Re: Authority of State 

Board of Education to 

allocate additional 

professional units to 

school districts containing large numbers of 

children of migrant 

workers. 

Dear Commissioner Brockette: 

you have requested our opinion regarding the authority 

of the State Board of Education to allocate additional 

professional units to school districts containing large 

numbers of children of migrant workers. 

you state that, at its June, 1975, regular meeting, the 

State Board of Education adopted the following resolution: 

In districts having enrollments which 

include five percent (5%) or more 

children of migratory agricultural 

workers and fishermen the average daily 

attendance utilized for Foundation 

School Program purposes shall be the 

average daily attendance earned during 

any two six week reporting periods as 

determined by the district concerned. 

Such average daily attendance shall be 

on a current basis. 

p. 3321 
I 

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The Honorable M. L. Brockette - page 2 (H-788) 

The resolution was based upon section 16.11(f) of the 1971 

Texas Education Code, which provided, in pertinent part: 

. . .where there is an annual fluctuation in attendance in the district, or 

where for any reason there is a marked 

increase or decrease in the attendance 

of any school district, adjustments in 

professional allotments shall be made by 

the state commissioner of education 

subject to applicable rules and regulations of the State Board of Education. 

Section 16.11(f) was completely deleted from the revision of 

section 16 contained in House Bill 1126 (Acts 1975, 64th Leg., 

ch. 334, at 0771, effective in pertinent part on September 1, 

1975. Section 16.102(a) now provides: 

Regular education program personnel units 

shall be allotted to each school district 

on the basis of the district's current 

average daily attendance during the 180- 

day school term for the 1975-1976 school 

year and on the basis of the district's 

current average daily attendance for the 

best 170 days of the lSO-day school term 

for each school year thereafter. 

In our opinion, after the enactment of House Bill 1126, 

neither section 16 nor any other provision of the Education 

Code supports the resolution made the basis of your inquiry. 

Section 16.102(a) clearly states the formula for the allocation of personnel units, and no exception to that formula is 

provided. We have no authority to conclude that the deletion 

of former section 16.11(f) did not indicate the intention of 

the Legislature to repeal that statute. House Bill 1126 

stated that one of its purposes was the "amending [of] 

Chapter 16. . . Texas Education Code." Acts 1975, 64th Leg., 

ch. 334, at 077. It is well established that the latest 

expression of legislative intent supersedes its predecessor. 

p. 3322 
The Honorable M. L. Brockette - page 3 (H-788) 

State v. Easley, 404 S.W. 2d 296, 300 (Tex. Sup.1966); 

Commercial Standard -- Fire and Marine Co v. Commissioner of 

Insurance, 429 S.W. 2d 930, 933 (Tex%c App. -- Austir 

1968, no writ). An amendment operates to repeal any provision of the original act or section that is omitted. State 

v. Andrews, 20 Tex. 230 (Tex. Sup. 1857). While the repeal 

z section 16.11(f) may have been inadvertent, we are 

without power to ignore the clear and unambiguous language 

of the statute. Thus, we conclude that the Legislature withdrew the authority of the State Board of Education to allocate 

additional professional units to school districts under circumstances such as you describe. 

SUMMARY 

By repealing section 16.11(f) of the 

Education Code, the Legislature has 

withdrawn the authority of the State 

Board of Education to allocate additional 

professional units to school districts 

containing large numbers of children of 

migrant workers. 

-Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

jwb 

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