Hon. L. A. Woods QplnlonNo~ o-897 

State.Superintendent of Re: Reconslderation'of~Opinion No. 

Public-Instrnctlon 

Austin, Texas 

Q-1944, conceming~the granting of 

salar a-id under House Bill No. 933, 

Acts ZE' 6th Legislature. _ 

Hon. L. A. Woods QplnlonNo~ o-897 

State.Superintendent of Re: Reconslderation'of~Opinion No. 

Public-Instrnctlon 

Austin, Texas 

Q-1944, conceming~the granting of 

a-id under House Bill No. 933, 

bear Sir: 

Legislature. _ 

Dear 

We are in receipt of your letter of March 7, 1949, requesting that we reconsider our Opinion No; O-1944, addressed to 

the Honorable Olan R. Van Zandt, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Advisory Committee. In thatopinion we reuled that the 

State-Superintendent-of Public Instruction and the Joint Legislative Mvlsory Committee dld not have authority under the provisions-of House Bill No. 933, Acts 46th Legislature, to direct 

applicants for rural aid under such Act, to omit receipts from 

the State per capita apportionment which they would receive for 

pupils transferred into the school district from a district ineligible to receive aid under Section 6 of the Act, in showing 

the budgeted receipts of the receiving district-under Section 

13. 

You suggest that Inequities and hardships to school 

districts will result under our constr.uction of the Act, and 

state that: "1~1 many Instances the number of pupils-transferring into State aid schools make it absolutely essential that 

extra teachers be employed to take care of this influx." 

The questions raised in your present request were considered in.our original opinion, and It was pointed out that 

the Legislature had provided for adjusting such hardships or lne.qultles asmight arise. In that opinion; we stated: 

"If this construction works a hardship upon the school 

receiving such ineligible transfers, such result does not 

justify a disregard of the statute. The wisdom of the statute is for the Legislature. Besldes,.other provisions of 

the kct may take care of such situation. We refer especially to that provision contained in Section 4 'that where 

unusual or extraordinary conditions cause an actual increase in enrollment, an'adjustment as to the number of 

teachers may be made by the State Superintendent on approval of said Joint Legislative-Advisory Committee not to exceed the teacher-pupil load provided herein."' 

. 
Hon. L. A. Woods, page 2 (O-897) 

Section 4 of House Bill No. 933, Acts 46th Legislature, 

reads as follows8 

"Sec. 1;. (Teacher-Pup11 Load.)--State aid under provisions of this&t shall bye allotted upon the basis of 

one (1) teacher for any number of scholastics from twenty 

(20) ~to thirty-five (35) and one (1) additional teacher 

for-each additional thirty (30) scholastics; or fractional 

part thereof residing in the district. It Is expressly 

provlded that In the event pupils are transferred into the 

district the excess fractional part thereof shall not be 

less than two (2) scholastics. The basis for calculation 

shall be the net-scholastlc,enumeration of white or colored r&e, as the case may be, including the transfers 

into the district and excluding the transfers out of the 

district, provldeb such transfers are from the districts 

eligible to receive aid under Section 6 of this Act, for 

the current year; and there shall be deducted all scholastics who have completed the course of study in their 

home school, as authorized by the county board of trustees, 

provided that where unusual or extraordinary conditions 

cause an actual increase in enrollment, an adjustment as 

to the number of teachers may be made by the State Superintendent on approval of said Joint Legislative Advisory 

Committee .not to exceed the teacher-pupil load provided 

herein. .& condition of unusual enrollment may be said to 

exist when and If the average daily attendance'of a school 

reaches a point in excess of the net scholastics remaining 

in the district after transfer. Under no conditions shall 

aid be granted for teachers in excess of the teacher-pupil 

load based on the average dally attendance, for a period 

of at least five (5) consecutive months; provided further 

that under no condition shall aid be granted any district 

In excess of the number of teachers actually contracted 

for and employed as authorized herein, and shall also be 

~uthorlsed to increase the teacher-pupil load from thirty 

(30; to forty (40) after the employment of the fifteenth 

teacher on the.teacher-pupil load provided herein, and 

shall further be authorized, If deemed advisable, to place 

all schedules of payment for the last year of the biennium 

on the net scholastics for such school districts for the 

year preceding." 

The teacher-ouoil load is one teacher for anv number 

of scholastics from tw&%y (20) to thirty-five (351 and one (1) 

additional teacher for each,addltiotial thirty (3O),scholasticsor fractional part thereof. The Act then directs-the method for 

calculating the net scholastics within the district for determining the number of teachers which may be set up in the budgeted 

expenditures of the district under Section 13. This is based 
Hon. L. k. Woods, page 3 (C-897) 

upon the scholastic census, transfers in 

and scholastics who have completed their 

their borne school. Under Section 5, the 

and out of a diStriCt 

course of study in 

school district Is not __ ..- disqualLfied from receiving salary aid deternlnec. in this method 

ylle. i; 8 t.3 f >rerage daily attenI;mce Is less than sixty-five 

is>;,) per zent cf the scholastic tens-us enrollment. 

._ 

T’ke Se&ton then provides that the State Superlntendazt atti Joint Legisi.tlve Gdvlsory & ommlttee may adjust the num3er 0T F e;-ohers Yhere onuspal or extraordinay conditions caused 

se bw. zi _:&:,::l lncregs* f.Q cr Iher&, provided hcwever that 

the nu%b~ of.t~sachars shall :otOexceed the teacher-pupil load 

therern provlS?d. ‘IA condition of unusual enrollment may be said 

to exist when and if -the average dal’iy attendance of a school 

reaches a point in excess of the net scholastics remaining In the 

Zistrict after trwsrer.l~ Here WP find a specific provision au- ,& .horising the State Superlntri;dent L81d Joint Legislative ddvisory Committee to tilc~ addltloaA teachers when there is an actual increase in enrolZ.ment a& the average dad.ly atteudance is’ 

greater than the number of the net scholastics apportioned to the. 

-district based upon the scholastic censns and trantieer record, 

if such Increase is sufficient to warrant additional teachers 

and oreate an unusual or extraordinary condition. The disqualiflc&ilon that the number of teachers allowed under this proti- 

. slon shall not exceed the teacher-pupil load refers to a calculaMon of teacher-pupil load based upon average dally ‘attendance 

and not upon the census and transfer records. Any other construction would render the %nusual or extraordinary bonditionsU 

portion of the Section wlthout any significance or meaning whatsoever, since the school dlstrlct would already be entitled to 

the full number of teachers calculated upon the basis .of the 

census and transfer records wrthout any reference to unusual or 

extreordinary conditions. ’ 

/ : 

lie adhere to the conclusions expressed In our origlnal 

Opinion Ro. O-1944, 31;d are of the opinion that the Inequities 

and hardships to which you refer should be adjusted in the manner provided by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of Section h-of House Bill No. 933, Acts 46th LeglslaWire. _ . 

APEROVZD MAR 18, 1940 Yours very truly 

Id..GeralG_G. Mann ZTTORNEY GRRERAL OF TEXAS 

ATTWNEY GEI@El-&I, OF TFXAS By.fsJ-Cecil-C.-Cammack,. 

I?PPRQ~P:..QRINICON-COMITY 

4x2 4!Jds, - rn4~~~.. 

Cecll‘C, CammackI, Assistant 

CCC:RS:wb