JIM MATTOX Attorney General
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# TheAttorney General ofTexas
April 18, 1983

Honorable Bill Presnal Chairman Committee onAppropriations Texas House ofRepresentatives 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 andvarious 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 theDeaf [hereinafter SCID]. Your firstquestion is:

Do the restrictions on use of appropriated fundsby junior colleges found in section 130.003 of the Education Code apply to the Southwest Collegiate Institution for the Deaf? Is the institute eligible toreceive stateappropriations forconstruction, operations, orother purposes? SCIDwas created by the legislature in 1981under 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 oruniversity. 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. 105Honorable Bill Presnal -Page 2 (JM-24)

A "public junior college" isnotmerely any two-year institution ofhigher education. It isacreature 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) aunion junior college; (4) acounty junior college; (5) a joint-county junior college; and (6) apublic junior college asapart ordivision ofaregional college district. The creation of the various types of junior colleges is governed by chapter 130of theEducation 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 isnot 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 isnot 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 theEducation 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 theEducation Codeprovides:

(a) The governing board of the institute may receive appropriations for the institute's operations only if the board operates the institute incompliance with this chapter. So long as theboard operates SCID in compliance with the provisions of chapter 131. it is eligible to receive legislative appropriations foranypurpose. You also ask:

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

May the Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf legally receive land, equipment andbuildings from a federal agency or a community college district? Section 131.006(b) of theEducation Codeprovides:

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 thepurposes of this subchapter. Inour opinion, thisprovision clearly authorizes theboard toreceive 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 tomake 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 longas itsboard of trustees operates the facility in compliance with the provisions of chapter 131 of the Education Code; Very trulyyours 

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4 JIM MATTOX Attorney General ofTexas TOMGREEN FirstAssistant Attorney General DAVID R.RICHARDS Executive Assistant Attorney General Prepared byRick Gilpin Assistant Attorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE SusanL.Garrison, Chairman JonBible David Brooks Rick Gilpin JimMoellinger Nancy Sutton p. 107