Opinion ID: 1724796
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Intent of Section 7.

Text: As amended in 1940, Article XII, Section 7 of the Louisiana Constitution provided: The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College shall be under the direction, control, supervision and management of a body corporate to be known as the `Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College,'   . (Italics ours.) The history of this constitutional provision is well known. In his 1940 message to the Legislature, the Governor of Louisiana recommended legislation which will guarantee a depoliticalization of our universities. Later in the message, he noted that Louisiana State University had been the storm center of a politicalized educational system. [3] To carry out this recommendation, four members of the Senate introduced a Joint Resolution amending Article XII, Section 7 of the Constitution vesting the direction, control, supervision and management of the affairs of the University in the Board of Supervisors. Adopted by the legislature as Act 397 of 1940, this amendment to our Constitution was ratified by the People in general election. It is quite clear that the purpose of this amending, in keeping with the executive recommendation, was to remove the administration of the daily affairs of the University from both the Governor and Legislature and place them under a nonpolitical board. Act No. 668 of 1968 amending Section 7 fortifies the above construction. To provide for the Louisiana Coordinating Council for Higher Education, the constitutional amendment was enacted creating the Council and defining its powers. The following words were added at the beginning of the section: Except as otherwise provided in this Section . . . This means, in context, that no governmental authority other than the Coordinating Council for Higher Education (created by Subdivision C, added to Section 7 by the 1968 amendment) can intrude into the administration of the affairs of the University. Under the terms of the amendment, even the right of the Coordinating Council to do so is severely limited. Our interpretation that the intent of the constitution is to grant exclusive administrative power to the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University is reinforced by the quite different provision with regard to the State Board of Education. This latter board is constitutionally recognized by the same Section 7 as having supervision of all other higher educational institutions, subject to such laws as the Legislature may enact. Thus, Section 7 provides unambiguously for direction, control, supervision and management of Louisiana State University (only) by its Board of Supervisors, but at the same time the Section provides for legislative oversight and regulation of the State Board of Education's administration of other higher educational institutions.