OFFICE OF l?lE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

AUSTIN 

Honorable Jamma K. Evrtta 

Dl#triot Attornry 

~pasas, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

whioh you subnil 

The county Sahool 

met on neptomber 9, 19 

whloh purportedly oon 

Comon Sohool D 

Independent EC& 

county. Bo ala 

nion of this doprrtment 

now efieotive aa suoh. 

ty sohool trustees ahall hwe 

aoholaetio population and fndopendmt rohool 

illstriote hating 10~s than trs huMred and iitty 

aoholaetlo population for the purpose of eatrbliahhing and operating rural high sohoels,. pmvided alao that the county sobool trust@ee mar 

amex one or more ~oiumon eohool distriots or one 
nonorabls James K. Rvotts, Pegs 2 

or more Independent sohool distrlots having less 

than two hundred and fifty soholastlo population 

to a oom!non aohaol dietriot having four hundred 

or more soholastio population or to an indepandant 

district having two hundred and fifty or more 

soholaetio population upon the approval of the 

boerd of trustees of sash sohool dlstrlot affeotsdi 

provided that xhen one or mom oonmon sohool &IOtsiots are 60 annexed to a oommon school dlutrlot 

having four hundred or more soholaatio populatIom, 

or to an Independent dIstrIot having two hundred 

and fifty, or mars ooholastlo population, as the 

oaae may be, a board oi txusteer shall be slsotad 

from the distriot at large and ahall have the managameot and oontrol of the,dIetriot as enlarged 

until the time for ths next alaotion and qualltloatione of trustsee for oommon and Indapsndsnt 

alstriots, as prarldod by Oenaral Law. . . .)I 

The oaso 0r county ward of Pohool Tntstetra et al 

V. Gray et al, 42 9. W. (2&l 697 (w, Z. Ref.) dealt with tha 

z$:on of a ocmmoa? eohool dIstrIot to an fhdmpendont oohool 

The oourt In oonstrulng Artlola 29%2a, et seq., rile 

the rdlibrsSIg mitiosfqtt 

wo al*otion wa6 r.quIrsd. !rhe oonrent ot 

the trustow of bath dimtrlota was euffiolrnt to 

authorize the annexation by order o? the U@unfy 

Board 0r Sohool Trusteos.~ 

The oaae of Barnhart v* county Board or gahool Trusboos oi Young Oouaty, lb8 9. W. (2d) 770, 8180 dealt with the 

annaxatlon oi a o-on sohool dlstrlst to an In4apandmt sohool 

bistrlot under Artlob 29220. We quote from the opinion of 

tha oouxt 86 mlowt 

aIf It oould be said that the patltion by 

the two trwteea or tha Flint Onok Cionwa Rshool 

Diatrfot oould in aSy nay atirot ths nlIdItY Of 

the order of the oounty board In Rnneling that 

dlstriot to tha Graham ludapanbant DIstrist On 

Map 9, 1935, the dafaota wwo oured by tha validatIng Aot of the &l&h LsgIslatars, 1935, Regular ges- 

~lon, ohap. 221, p. 530 (Var%an's Aan. OIv. -3. 

art. 2e15g-7), vhhioh aot beomm sfreotive Mw 10, 
Rouorable Jasm K. Yvette, Page 3 

1935, as well also by the Aot o? the Firat Called 

Seasion, 14th Le&alature, 1935 (ohaptor t&8), 

now artiole 2806a, Vernon*s Am. Clr. St..whIah 

aot beoame l ??eotIve on Ootober 17, 1935. Thea0 

validating aots ooverc0 almo6t every aonoelvable 

irregubriby, OYOrSight, inadvertenae, end barn+ 

,108s aamlI0tion In prooeeaings leading up to the 

?ornation, deelgnatlon, oonsolIaetIon, and ahnaxatlon in.matters o? school dietriots, and, a0 

statad, we believe the aouuty board was warranted 

In aooaptlng the petition and request of the two 

trustees of the oomon 8ohool aIstrlot ail in go@ 

?aIth being the sot of the board o? trustees o? 

that dietriot, y8t these broad validating rots 

nere paeaed by the Legislature to set all suoh 

apparent dab.atabls,derloisnoIos atrest; and we 

thlhk they:ara sui~loimnt ror that purpose.v 

we a0 not ?Ihd It woewary to aO0ia0 whetherthe 

annexation was,valia 0~ otherwi88. We .klImva that even ii 

.,*. the oom?mlIdatIoh wer~lnvalld, IlrtIOla ~28158-25 Is amply' 

: au??foiont In Its tsrw to vslldata the ?om&lon of the 

~.. sohof3l~dIstrlot. Seotlone 1, 2 and 3 of hrtiele 2815-25 

xaaa as rollowat 

i ’ 

"Gaotlon 1.: All Sohool DIst~iots,,,I&WUhg 

Common soho rdstriote, niaepenaent sonool’ Dfstrlats, OonsolId'ated Common Soho DIstrIots, 

~Rural Righ Sdhool Dlstriots, all OaamtyLIne 

Rahool Distrlata, lnoluding.Oounty Line Common 

Sohool Districts; Oouhty Line fndepeadent Sohool 

DIetriots, County Line Consolidated !&muon Sohool 

Distiiots, cOusty.&inO~ ~OnsOlid&i86 Ina~pena~t 

Sohool Dlstriots, OoUty~Linr Rural %iIghT?ohool 

Dlstriots, and, D$strlots formed by Coneo~datlon 

or Rurel High sohool Dlstrlota and o~utiguOus~Inaepenaent~Sohoo1 Districts, aud all othe.~,Suhool 

Distrlote, group8 or annexations of whol~~:'DiatrIots 

or parts o?,DIatricts by vote o? the people roaidIhg In auoh-Clstrlots or by aotion o? Gountp Tahool 

Roar&a, whether areated by Oaneral cir r:!peoIal Law 

In this Bate, and hsretoiore laid out atid established or attemptad to be established by the propar 

o??Iaers o? any County, or by the Leglalaturb O? 
Honorable Zamea K. Evetta, P%g% 4 

the State of T8X%%, find heretofore reoognized by 

either State or County suthorltiea a8 Sohool Dietriots, am hereby validated In all zeopeota 8% 

tflough they had.been duly and legally eetablished 

In the rirat instanoe. All sots of the Board% of 

Trustees In such ~Plstricte an8 all Comulaaloners* 

Oourts in ordering an eleotion ,or elaotiona, daolarlng ths results or such elootions, levying, 

attempting or purporting to levy tare% rar and on 

behalf or suoh Sohool Districts, and all bond% 

iaaued and AOW outstanding, and all bond8 horetorore v0tsa but not yet.kaaued, ana all bona aaaumption tax eleotlons,‘ara hereby In all things 

validated. The fact that by Yqadvertenoe or oversight anr sot or the orrioer0 0r any county in 

the~oreatlon Ott any Distrlot was omitted shall 

in no wise lnvalldats such Diatrlot~ 8na the ra0t 

that by inadvertenoo or oversight any eet wae 

omitted by the Basrd af Trueteee of any auoh Dlrtriot or the Cosnale%ion%r8~ Court of any County 

in ordering an eLdotlon or eleotlons, or in declaring the results thereoi, or in levying the 

taxee ror suoh Dlatriot, or in the lssuanoe of 

the bonda ot any suah Dlstriot, %hall iA no ni%e 

invalidate any of suoh proossdings or any bonds 

80 ieeued by auoh Dlatriots. 

*All eat% of the County Roards of Truetea%. 

of any and all Countlss in rearranging, ohanglng, 

or aubdivld5.ng euoh Sohool Dlstrfots or lnoressing or aeoreaaing the aree tbereot, in any Fohool 

Dlstriot of any kind, or in oreating new Dlstriota 

out of part% oi existing Diatrlots or otherwiee, 

are hereby in all things validatsd. 

"sao. 2. 411 Sob001 Dlatrlote mentioned in 

thla Act are hereby authorized and eagomr%d to 

levy, a%%fw%, aAd oollsot the a%me rate or tax a% 

1% now being levied, aesesead end colleoted themIA, and heretofore authorized or attempted to,be 

authorized by any eot, or aots or said Distriota, 

or by any Act, whether -Gmerhl or rfpecial, oi the 

Legialaturs. 

*i?80. 3. This Act shall not apply to tm~y Dfstriot, the organization or oreatlon of whloh, or 
Honorable Jamaft IL Evatts, Pago 5 

oonsolldation or annexation of any territory in 

or to suoh Distrlot whioh 1s now lnvolr%d ln llti- 

&ion, or the validity of the organization or 

oreatlon of whloh, or aonaolldstlon or annaxatlon 

at territory in or to suoh Dlstriota, is attaoked 

in any suit or lltlgatlon pending in any ocurt or 

competent jurladiotlon which has been filed hrretorore or wlthln tventy (20) Bays arter the 8ft8Otlte date of thla Aot. Prcwldid furthar that thla 

A%t %hall not %pPlY to any Dlstrlot whlah nk%y hat% 

bson @atabll%hrd'or oonsolldated, and whloh ma 

later returned to lta orlglml etetue.” 

Chief Su%tio% Our&on, apeaking tar tha Suprome 

court in ths aaaa 0r Anam90n County Rowi Matrlot no. 8 T. 

Pollard, 296 S.~W. 1062, had the following to ear regarding 

validating clots: 

Tha gonaral and e%t%bli%ho# rule is, rihet 

the Legislature aould hare authorlsed in the first 

inatanoa it oan ratify, 1v at the time or ratlrloation it haa thr inltlal authority to aubhorlco." 

kid JwiOo aritt, ~peclki~ ror the Oanrari%8lonr 

Appeal% in tha ease oi Lyford Indopendont Sohool Dlatrlot 

at al v. WUliaar Independent Bahool Diatriot et al, )O S. W. 

(Zd) 854, raid the followlag: 

Vhe validating aot ln quaatlon la not a 

apeoial but a genaral law,.and the power ot the 

Laglolature to enaot auratire atatuter or this kind 

la no longer an open qu%atlon la thl8 at%fb.* Me 

aleo Twing t. Rhodo%, 16 8. W. (2d) 258; Tom Onan 

county Y. Moody, 289 8. WT. 3811 Brown t. Trimeott, 

In&ependant Sohool Dirtflot at al, 34 S. W. (2d) 

. 

In view or the, rooMgoing authorltiea, It la tha 

opinion or thie dapartment that %v%n if the oonsolldatlon 

were invalid at the tlm% of the ardor of thm aouaty Sohool 

Board, the oonaolid%t%d dlatrlot 1% mu, by virtue of it% 

validation by Artlole 2815g-25, a legal %%hool dl%trlot. 

Very truly your8 

ATTOBBEY OBWBBAL OF TKXA?