**JIM MAllOX**  **Attorney General** 

Suprem CourtBuilding P.0.BOX

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# TheAttorney General ofTexas Aquet 14, **1985**

Eooorable Carl **A.** Parker cheirmall Education **Committc:e:** Texas State Senetc! P. 0. Box 12068, Cepitol Station Austin, Texas 711711 Dear Senator Parkm: opinion No.JM-340 Re: Whether agrievance hearing is open to the public under eertale circumstances and related questions

You**ask**whether the OpenMeetings Lawrequired auAlamo Comunlty College District grlwance committee to diacuaa e terminated employee’s grievewe in open session. You also ask **whether the**  chancellor could order persona to leave the premises of the district headquarters. Newspaper clippings which you have submftted describe the circumstances Iofthe grievance coxmittee hearing. OnMarch29, 1985. a grievance conmlttee met to hear a grievance filed by a dlatrfct secretary whohad been terminated. The cormnittee vae appointed according to the folloving procedure of the Alaeo Community College ‘District:

The three-member grievantie coxmittee shall be ad hoc. Its members shall be appointed by the President (or Chancellor, as appropriate) from a list of six or more employeea agreed upon by (a) the appropriate **Vice** President or Director of Buainew Services (for college employees) or Vice Chancel.lor (for District exployeea) and (b) **the** elected head of the appropriate employee group or (when the grievant is an administrator) an ACCD eeployc:r designated by the committee from an elected or appointed pool, so long as the pool is large enough to ensure that a small number of employws are not asked to ~serve repeatedly. Persow involved in the grievance process are excludartl

. Thegrievance po:L:Lcystates as follows:

4. Within five (5) days after receiving the grievfcxe committee’s recommendation. the

p. 1548Honorable Carl **A.** Parker - PIIS~2 (311-340) 

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President (or Chancellor, for District office employees) must **communicate** his or her decision in vritlng to the involved parties. College employees may appeal the Prealdent’ o decision to the Chancellor c’s his/her designee. **A** final appeal may be made to the Board of Trustees and must be filed **vlthin** ten (10) days following **the** last level of appeal. **At** the Board’s discretion, such an appeal msy be handled either through a review of the griwance record or through aformal hearing. The final decision will be cmnicated in vriting to the involved parties **vlthin** five **(5)** days after the Bod%rdcompletes ite deliberations. AlamoDistrict Policy Manua:L,What’s What, Policy No. IV4-29. Whenthe grievance ccmmlttee convened the March 29 hearing **at** 9:00 a.m., two reporters from the San Antonio College student newspaper were present. The reporters had spoken to the employee about attending the hearing and she did not object to their presence. The chancellor’s special assistant told the reporters that the hearing was closed. They attempted twice more to attend, without success. The chancellor ultimately c;alled the campus police who arrived after x the students had left the hearing room and were waiting outside **the** building for it to end. Campus police ordered them to leave the premises and filed dieordexly conduct complaints against them. The Open Meetings Act applies to meetings of a “governmental body ” defined as follows:

(c) ‘Governmental body ’ means [l] any board, commission, department. committee. or agency vithin the executive or legislative department of the at&e, which Is under the direction of one or more elected or appointed members; and (21 every CommIssionera Court and ctty council in the state, and every dellberatlve body having rule-making or quasi-judicial power and clasalfied as a department, agency, or political subdivision of acounty or city; [3] anli the board **of** trustees of every school district,- and every county board of school trustees and countv board of education: [41 and the governing boaid of every special- district heretofore or hereafter created bylaw. (Emphasis added; numerals [ll. 121. [31. I41 added). V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, )l(c:). This definition **is in**  **four parts.**  **See** generally **Attorney** General Opinion H-467 (1974). Thefirst part gives criteria for determining v ’hich state level entities are governmental _,

p. 1549gonorable Carl **A.** Parher - Page 3 (JM-340)

bodies. See generally Attorney General Opinion8 g-994 (1977); E-772 (1976); R-450, R-438. H-246 ((1974); R-3 (1973). The remainder of the definition liars apecif ic 

### localgovernmental entitles. See generally Attorney General Opinions W-174 (1980) ; B-1281 (1978); g-554. E-496 (1975); g-450 (1974).
**A** comnity college district la a political subdivision. **Attorney** General Opinion M-707 (1970). The legislature has named such Institutions “conxsunity colleges ” because they “seme their communities not only through university-parallel programs but also by means of occupational programs and other programs of community interest and need.” Educ:

. Code Il30.005. **A** community college district board of trustees is governed by the law pertaining to independent school districts, Insofar as it is applicable. Educ. Code 1130.084. Noreover , comrunity college districts are “school districts ” within article 1’1.1, section 3 of the Texas Constitution, which authorizes school d:lstricta to levy and collect ad valorem taxes. Shepherd v. San Ja$nto Junior College District. 363 S.W.2d 742 (Tex. 1963); see Educ. community colleges). Code 0130.005 (junior colleges renamed In c,ur opinion. the trustees of a community college district are truatoea of a “school district” within section 1(c) of the Open Meetings Act. See also V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17. Q3A(b), (e) (notice provisj,ona)

. Thus, the board of trustees of the Alamo Community College District is a governmental body within the act. Prior opinions eatablkh that an entity will be covered by the Open Meetings Act if it is a “governmental body ” which holds “meetings.” as those tenw are defined in the act. See **Attorney** General Opinions H-994 (1’3 ’17); H-772 (1976); R-438 (1974). These opinions consider vhether the entity in question is described by the express language of the definitions. Thus, astate-level entity will be a governmental body within the act if it is “vithin the executive or legislative department 3:E the state” and “under the direction of one or more elected or ,q?pointed members.” See, e.g., Attorney General Opinions E-994 (1!)?7); E-772 (1976); E-438 (1974). For a local level entity to be a“governmental body ” within the act, it must be expressly included in the list of governmental bodies which comprises the second branch of the definition. V.T.C.S. art. 6252-17, 51(c). That list names several specific governmental bodies. It also establishes criteria for identifying deliberative bodies “classified as a department, agency, or political city.” subdivision of a county or

See, e.g., Attorney General Opinions JM-4 (1983); D-467 (1974). The definition ,x[ governmental body does not, however. inr.lude committees subordinate to the governing body of a school district or junior college district such as the grievance committee. Since the Alamo Comnunitf College grievance committee is not a governmental body within th,e statutory definition, it is not subject

p. 1550.

Bouorable Carl A. Parker - **P1g8** b (JM-340)

to the **Open** Meeting8Act. TbaMarch 29 hearing vas therefore not a meeting subject to the OpeuIleetings Act. You**next** askvhcther the chaucellor could order persons to leave the premises of district headquarters. Since the grievance comittae hearing was not subject to the OpenMeetings **Act,** student **reporters** had no right under that act to attend. Whether the chancellor could properly order persons to 1t:ave the preuisea of district headquarters depends upon all the facts and circumstances. The trustees of a conmmity college "have theexclusive power tomanageand govero" **the** schools of the district. Eiuc. Code 123.26(b). Theymsy adopt "such rules, regulations, and by-,lavs as **they may**  deem proper." College officials mayenforce rules and regulations todeter disruption of the educational environment. tansdale v. Tyler Junior College, 318 P. Supp. 529 (D.C. 1970); l&l::8 v. Board of Trustees, Tarraat County Junior College District, 480 S.W.2d 289 (Tex. Clv. App. - Fort Worth 1972, writ ref'd n.r.e.). d.ssuming the chancellor vas acting pursuant to authority validly delegated by the trustees, he vas empowered to order persons to leave district headquarters. See also Penal Code 942.05 (disrupting ameetiaf,).SUMMARY

A grievance committee of the Alamo Conrrwnlty College District is not a "governmental body" within the Open Eleetiags Act, article 6252-17, V.T.C.S. **Very truly**  **your**

# , J k A

JIM MATTOX **Attoruey** General of Texas TOM GREBN First Assistant Attorney General DAVIDR. RICHARDS Executive Assistant Attorney General ROBERT

GRAY Special Assistant **Attorney** General RICKGILPIN Chairman, Opinion Coxanittet! Prepared by Susan L. Garriricln **Assistant** Attorney General ?

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, ,. Ronorablo Carl A. Parkor - Page S (311-340)

APPROVED: OPINION

COMIITTIZE Rick Gilpin, Chairman Susm Garrison TonyGuillory JimMoellinger Jennifer Riggs NancySutton Sarah Woelk Bruce Youngblood

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