The opinion
November 14, 1950
Hon. Howard E. Smith, M.D.
Acting ~XxecutiysMrector
Board for Texas State Hospitals
and SpeciiilSchools
Austin, Texas 0p1nI0n,F50.
V-1118
Re: l$lIgIbflltyM'a ward
of Uako State Home for
tuition exemption at
Texas A. k~M.:College
under the Saots sub-
Bear Slrr"* mitted,.
You have requested an opinion conoerm the
elIglbIlIty of a ward of Waco,State Home who recently
gpaduated from the Rosebud High School for tnition ex-~
eiuptlonat Texas A. & Mi College. We quote.the Solloving
facts concerning the ward from your requestr ~,
"This young I& had been 'commltted to
the Waco State Home as a dependent and neg-
lected child and has been In a boarding harae
at Rosebud Until September ~1,~1950. Artlole
3259 (V.C.Si)allows the SUperInttindent of
the Wabo State Home to place cblldretiwho are
Inmates'of'the Home In boarding homes; ~Artl-
cle 3259 states that thechIldren so ljlaoe,d
shall be deemed to have the same status as.
other Inmates of said Waao State.Home and
shall contlnue to be wards and subjeot to
the guardIanshIp of said Superintendent. ‘$he.
SuperintendentIs glven the authority by tM.8
article to remove the children from the board-
lng home.'
Article 2654S, V.C.S., provide81
'The governing boards OS the Instltu-
tlons of collegiate rank operating In whole
or in part by pub110 funds appropriated from
the treasury are hereby authorleed,anddl-
rected to exempt all oitlzens of Texas who at
the time of their entry into a State educa-
tional Institution of collegiaterank are
,Holl.
Howard E. Smlth, M.D., page 2 (~-1118)
hluh school araduates of the State Orphan-
a es from the.paymentof all dues, Sees and
&aes whatsoever.'lncludinn-Seesfor cor-
respondence coursei; proviaez, however, that
the foregoing exqmptlon shall not be con-
strued to apply to deposits, such as library,
or laboratory deposits, which may be required
in the nature OS a security for the return OS
or proper care of propertg.ibsnedfor the use
OS stucleilts,
nor to Sees or charges for lodg-
lng:.board or clothing. The governing boards
of said institutionsmay and it shall be their
duty to requlrd every applicant claiming the
benefit+ OS the above,exemptionto submit sat-
isS&ctorg evidence that the applicant is a
kltlzen OS Texas and is otherwise entitled to
said exemption.' (Emphasisadded.)
It 1s the interpretationOS the Board for State
HoSpltalsand Special Schools that the provlskohs of'Artl-
cle 2654S,.abovequoted, .qempt the ward ln qtiestlonfrom
, ,whl.l8'the
the payment OS tultltin,fees Registrar of A. &
M. Odll'ege~l@+is fha'tthe ward is rioi?
covered'byArtl-
cle,2654Ssince he Is a graduate 'ofRdseb? High Sohoo& '
Article 3259, VICiS.;'ai tiended by House Bill
923, Act+ 47th Leg,.,$941, ch. 369, p. 601, provides in
part:
"Sec. 1. Childrezicommltkid to the
Uaco Skate Home may be placed by the super-
intendent,,upon.the approval of the State
Board bf Control and under the authority of
an order 'tothat effect issued by the Court
which consulttedsuch child to stichlnstltn-
tlon, lx~chlldred~sbeding hames at a rea-
sonable rate tiotto ekeeed One Dollar ($1)
per day for each'child 80 boarded when ln
the judgment~bf such superintendenteffeo-
tlve .adm%nl#tratLopof said Waco State Hixne
so requires; provided that,sdch chlldren's.
boarding homes shall obtain an annual ll-
eense as required by.law, which lloense shall
lm issued wlthout See, and under such reason-
able and.unlS~rm rules and regulatlons.asthe
State BoarQ oS'Publ3.cWelfare may prescribe
for all c~ldreti's,boarding homes in aocord-
anoe with thenlaws,.ofthis State'as same now
exist 'ormay hereafter.be'-enacted.Ro abild
. .
Hon. Howard E'.Smith',M.D.,,jpa&e3 (~-1118)
shall be placed in s&h childrentsboard-
ing home &less_lt 1s deemed advantageous
to.the welfare of such~chlld;and children
so placed Shall be deemed to have the same
status a$ pther~lnmatesof sald.Waco State
Hb-
ome and.s
Jeot to the qardlanshlp OS said superltitend-
ent. . . ." (Emphasisadded.)
1~ 2 Sikherland,Statutory Construction (3rd
Ed. 1943: 531, it is stated:
I Prior statutes relatlng'tothe
same sibjeit matter are to be compared with
the new provision; and if possible by rea-
sonable constz%ctlon,both are to be so
constrfledthat effect Is given to every~prq-,
~sl.on of each. . . .V
In view of the Soregolng, the provlsio&i OS Arti-
cle 2654s must be construed in connectionwlth'titi&
3259, which requires children placed ln boarding homes by
the Waco State Home "to have the same statue as other ln-
mates of said Waco State Home and shall continue to be
wards and subject to the guardianshipof said superln-
tendent."
The emergent clause OS House Bill 35, Acts 51st
w*, R.S. 1949, ch. 5f4, p. 1054 (Art. 2654s7 provides:
%ec. 3. Whereas, a number of the cbll-
dren who have been in the various State Or-
phanages and have graduated from high school
and are now desirous of aoqulrlng a college
educatloti,should be encouragedin their ad-
mirable ambition by exempting them from tul-
tlon, creates an emergency . . ..*
The above quoted provision shows that It was the
Intentlou of the Legislaturenot to limit Article 2654s to
graduates of State Orphanages' high schools but to make it
apply to all high sohool graduates of State Orphanages
whether such graduates attend high school at the orphanages
or at another hlgh school. Thl,sconstructionof Article
2654s gives meaning to both Articles 3259 and 2654s.
You are therefore advised that under the facts
submlttbd the ward l.nquestion is exempt Sroiuthe payment
OS tultlon Sees at Texas A. & M. College.
Hon. Rqward E, Smith, M.D., page 4 (v-1118)
A vard of a State orphanagewho grad-
uates from a public high school wtile in a
'boarding home* (Art:3259, V.C.S.) Is ex-
empt from tuition fees at a State.educa-
tlonal institution of collegiaterank under
Article 2654f, V.C.S.
APPROVED: Yours very truly,
,'.
J. C. DavlG, Jr. PRICE DARIEL
County Affairs Dlvlsion Attorney qeneral
EvtirettHutchlason
Executive AssIstant
Charles D. Mathews
First Assistant Assistant
JRijmmaw