JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General 

Supreme Court Building 

P. 0. BOX 12546 

Austin, TX. 76711. 2546 

512/4754301 

Telex 9101674-1367 

Telecopier 5121475-0266 

1607 Main St., Suite 1400 

Dallas, TX. 75201.4709 

2141742-6944 

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El Paso, TX. 79905-2793 

9151533.3464 

.L 20 Dallas Ave.. Suite 202 

Houston. TX. 77002.6966 

7131650-0666 

606 Broadway, Suite 312 

Lubbock, TX. 79401-3479 

6061747-5236 

4309 N. Tenth. Suite S 

McAllen, TX. 78501-1665 

5121662-4647 

200 Main Plaza. Suite 400 

San Antonio. TX. 76205.2797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

The Attorney General of Texas 

April 18, 1983 

Honorable Bill Presnal 

Chairman 

Committee on Appropriations 

Texas House of Representatives 

P. 0. Box 2910 

Austin, Texas 78769 

opinion No. JM-24 

Re: Whether Southwest Collegiate Institution for the Deaf 

may receive appropriated funds 

from the legislature and various 

in-kind donations from the 

federal government and a community college district 

Dear Representative Presnal: 

You have requested our opinion regarding the authority of the 

legislature to appropriate funds for Southwest Collegiate Institution 

for the Deaf [hereinafter SCID]. Your first question is: 

Do the restrictions on use of appropriated 

funds by junior colleges found in section 130.003 

of the Education Code apply to the Southwest 

Collegiate Institution for the Deaf? Is the 

institute eligible to receive state appropriations 

for construction, operations, or other purposes? 

SCID was created by the legislature in 1981 under chapter 131 of 

the Education Code. Section 131.001 thereof describes the facility 

as: 

a postsecondary educational institution providing 

instruction for hearing-impaired students 

preparing for a career or for enrollment in a 

senior college or university. 

SCID is: 

under the direct control and management of the 

board of trustees of the Howard County Junior 

College District. 

Section 131.002(a). The governing board of the institution is 

prohibited from conducting, except under limited circumstances, 

"regular junior college programs for students with unimpaired 

hearing." Section 131.003. 

p. 105 
Honorable Bill Presnal - Page 2 (JM-24) 

A "public junior college" is not merely any two-year institution 

of higher education. It is a creature of statute. Section 130.004 of 

the Education Code authorizes the creation of public junior colleges 

and junior college districts "Of any one of the following 

classifications": 

(1) an independent school district junior 

college; 

(2) a city junior college; 

(3) a union junior college; 

(4) a county junior college; 

(5) a joint-county junior college; and 

(6) a public junior college as a part or division 

of a regional college district. 

The creation of the various types of junior colleges is governed by 

chapter 130 of the Education Code. See §130.011, et se*.; 130.031, c 

*; 130.091, et seq. SCID, on th=ther hand, was created by the 

legislature. Section 130.001. Although it is "under the direct 

control and management of the board of trustees of the Howard County 

Junior College District," it is not itself one of the types of "public 

junior college" authorized by section 130.004. Rather, it is a 

"postsecondary educational institution providing instruction for 

hearing-impaired students preparing for a career or for enrollment in 

a senior college or university." Moreover, it is not on the list of 

certified junior colleges which the commissioner of higher education 

is required to file with the auditor and comptroller pursuant to 

section 61.063 of the Education Code. 

Since, in our opinion, SCID is not a "public junior college" 

under chapter 130 of the Education Code, the restrictions of section 

130.003, which apply only to "public junior colleges," are not 

applicable to it. Section 131.006(a) of the Education Code provides: 

(a) The governing board of the institute may 

receive appropriations for the institute's 

operations only if the board operates the 

institute in compliance with this chapter. 

So long as the board operates SCID in compliance with the provisions 

of chapter 131. it is eligible to receive legislative appropriations 

for any purpose. 

You also ask: 

p. 106 
Honorable Bill Presnal - Page 3 (~~-24) 

May the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the 

Deaf legally receive land, equipment and buildings 

from a federal agency or a community college 

district? 

Section 131.006(b) of the Education Code provides: 

The board may accept gifts, grants, or 

donations of money or property given to the 

institute for the institute's exclusive use in 

carrying out the purposes of this subchapter. 

In our opinion, this provision clearly authorizes the board to receive 

gifts, grants, or donations of land, equipment and buildings, from 

whatever source. We express no opinion as to whether a community 

college district may be empowered to make such a gift or grant. See - 

Tex. Const. art. III, $950, 51. 

SUMMARY 

The Southwest Collegiate Institution for the 

Deaf is not a "public junior college." It may 

receive appropriated funds so long as its board of 

trustees operates the facility in compliance with 

the provisions of chapter 131 of the Education 

Code; 

Very truly yours J 4 1; 

JIM MATTOX 

Attorney General of Texas 

TOM GREEN 

First Assistant Attorney General 

DAVID R. RICHARDS 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

David Brooks 

Rick Gilpin 

Jim Moellinger 

Nancy Sutton 

p. 107