OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN



# John:j. tidd, Jr. Iiireotor andhotuarg hssiatant Teacher Retirement System of Texan Auf~Cin,Texas
D4ar Sir:

Viehave reoeived WhiQhwe quote in part as



# 0writtencontraat triot that oalled September 5, 1939. 

### r under the congaily proper If the Roard son referred to abpve would or prior servioe, provided to serve as a teacher in the 196143, 1942-49, and 1943-44 school years?

“If your answer to the above questiC$ is in the affitc,atlve, what is the last data on whioh aperron 

### mayaeaum a bona fide wxi%ten ocntraet and baroonsidered as having beooma a teechsr within the period allowed in

# tijaOtiO!l ?I, Subseotion 5 of the TMoher RetireaienQ Law?”Honorable John 2. audd, Jr., Fege 2

Seo:lon 3, Subsection 5 o? the Teacher Retirement Law(Artlole 2922-1, Vernon’s motets% Civil Statutes, reads es iollowa:

“(5) Anyonewhohas taught In the State o? Texas in aocordanoe with the tents o? this Aot, but whoIs not in servloe during theyear in whloh the kat beoomea e??eotlve, shall, l? ho beoomes ateacher within two (2) years o? the date on which this Agt becomes e??ectlve, anl l? he oontlnues as such ?or a period of iive (5) oonseouflvt years, be entitled to receive oredit and resulting benefits ?or prlor-servloe es provide% for in this Aot.qf
In our Opinion Xo. O-646 it was held that three dates were o? lmportanoe In oonstrulng the Teeohrr Retlrement Law; that la, June 9, 1937, the date uponwhloh the Aot as an enactment o? the Legislature became eifeotive; July 1, 1937, the date o? establfshment of the Teaoher Eetirement System; and September 1, 1937, the date o? the **be** glnnlng of the first sahool **year** and uponwhloh oertaln provisions o? the Aet beoameoperetive. It was also held In Opinion 80. O-646 that the date referred to in Seotlon 3, Subsection 5, by the language, “the date onwhloh this Agt beoomes eifeotlve,” was June 9, 1937. Thus, two years fro5 that date would be June 9, i339.

Thehat make8provisions un%~er whloh amembermay claim oredlt ?or prior service. Subseotion 1 of Seotion 3 reads as

# r0ima:

“(1) al persons whoare teaahere on the date as of which the Xetlrsment Spatamie established ehall beoane membersas o? that date es a oondltlon o? their employment unless within a period or ninety (90) days aiter September 1, 1937, any suoh teacher shell file with the 3tate Board o? Trustees on a form preecrfbe% by suoh Board, a notice o? his eleotlon not to be covered in the membership o? the System end a duly executed waiver o? all prsaent and prospective beneiits which would otherwise inure to himon soaount o? hls participation in the Retlrment System.*

:‘ubeection 1 o? se&Ion 4 provides as followerHonoreblo John S. i7udd,Jr. ,Rege 3

“(1) Rn%ersuoh rulee end regulations as the Ztate Tioardo? Trustees ahall adopt eeoh Person whowas a teacher, as defined in this ;iot, at any time during the year lsiraedietelg preoedlng the eetablishment of the System, an% whobeoorsss a memberduring the first year of the Systenz, andwhobeoomes amemberduring the first year of operation of the Retirement System, or who 1s amemberat the beginning of the sohool year 19374938, shall file a dstailed stotaent of all Taxes servloe, as a teacher, rendered by himprior to the dete of establishment of the Retirement Sylrteaafor which he olalma oredit.W
TheLeglslnture realize% that Baas persons who would otherwise be eligible for participation in the Teaaher Retlr&vent Systemwould not be 

### inrervloe during the first yser of operation of the System, andwould thereby not be entitled to reoelve oredit for prior servioe. It, therefore, pessed Seetlon 3(5) whloh, In effeot, provides that onewho has taught in acoordenoe with the terms a? the Aot but who wasnot in servloe during the gear In which the Aet beoeme effeotlve would be entitled to reeelve prior servloe oredlt l? he beoame e teaaher withln two years of the e??eatlve date of the Aot, an%oontinues aa suoh for five oonseautlve years. 

### Endorthe facts eubmltted to us, the lndlvl%ual in queetion wa8 not in serrloe during the year preoeding the establlsbment of the system 

### orthe flrat or seoond year after such establlstient. Heseoured a aontraot on July kl, 1939, more than twoyears after the effeotive date of the Act. Yde

therefore believe that he does not 00814 within the terms of Section 315) so ~1sto be ellglble to reoelve oredlt for prior service.

It Is our opinion, therefore, that your question should be 

### answeredin the negative, an%it 1s so answered. This render8 unneaessary an enawer to your eeoond question.