The opinion
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
~- AUSTIN
Xey L7, 1939
Ronorable Eortimer Brown
Executive Secretary
Te8Oher lletir~nt S~sten of TOXW
motin, TOXIM
gplflr~ObQol'telrP?
Rs oaae ttmre lu doubt a8 to
uld be ooneidmed thd offeotfvo
qpl~isd to Sootion 8, SWmeotion
Lt be within the povmr af the
.A5t.,gqa.Ld
tho Tollllhe~
Rosrd of ,Tz!ustsoq.-Qf pzetdse-
mmt syutcm to pyuo upon the adaor, an*,
if sc+,*hat limltatione mnald tWBoa@
h8vo to ebmevo in neP* the dao?
Honorable Xortlmer Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 2
"(4) If there is doubt as to whether
or not a persjn.hes beaome a taaaher if
he seoures e oontraut to teach during the
summer as soon aa the employing sohool
opens its next regxllarschool sew, would
it be within the power of the Board of
Trustees of the Teaoher RetlrelaentSystem
to pees upon that point?"
Seotlon 3, Subsection 5, of the Teeoher Retire-
ment Aot (i&s of Forty-Fifth Legislatiqe, 1937, chap. 470,
p. '1178)provides as iollowcl:
am~ae rho has taught In the Stat-0
ot Texas in aOOOl'dUZO0 with thetOflDS Or
this Aot, but rho JIBnot fn Oerrioe dUr-
3ng the year in whloh the hot beoamossS-
iqotlve, shall, ii ho bsoomas a teaohm,
w$y two (8) yoan of the datsnoh
A& boeomos, effeotlvq, and it ho ooa-
tinu o s usu o h fo r l mrlod or rite (S)
eonaeoutiro.-am. be entitle&to reoalv~
orodit and rwalting bonefltr rOT prior
8er~Ioe as provided for in this Aot."
Sootion 8 or the Teaoher Retimmmt Aoi eolltdns
the rdlioring prorision:
l+ + ‘Th e ltotlromnt system 86 o n-
ated @hall bo establiahrd as of Jhly 1,
USI.'
tkotiin 1 provides, in part, as follmfsr
"(3) *Toaoher*'ahall man a person
employed on a full-tias, re&ular 8ahry
basis by board8 Of oommon sohool dlstriOts,
boards of lnd~pendont sohool distrfots,
00onty 80h00v boards, 80ti-t 30d or
Trustoe8, Btato Board or EduoatlOn .aad
Btate Dopartmont or Eduoation, boards or
Honorable Mort5mor Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 3
regents or aqlleges and uuiverslties, and
any other legally oonetituted board or
agency of en educational Institution or
organl%ation supported wholly or pertly
by the State. In all cases of doubt, the
RietirememtBoard of Trustees, hereinafter
defined, shall determine whether a person
is a teacher as defined in this Aot. A
teacher shall mean a person rendering ser-
vice to organized pub110 eduaation in pro-
foeeionel and buelneee adrPlnietratlonand ~,
supervision and in lnstruotioa, in pub110
eohoole 88 defiaod 'iaeubeootlon ($3)of
thle eootion.
"(81 iSe~loo~ shdllmean sonioe se
a tsaobur as deegribed in.Subseotion (8)
or thle eeotion.
*(SS) QohoolYear* shall mean the
year beginniry on or about Boptomber lst
and andlng oa or about Aqpet Slet.*
Sootion15 oi the Teaoher Retlrezmnt Aot provide;
as fbllore:
vh0 ~IIUXMZSMO or thf8 -88~2-0 to
ths people tanor, oroatoe (UIemeaoa-
oy and an imporatin pubLfo nooesslty
that the Constitutional Rule reguirlna
bills to be read on three several days
lnraoh Ewes be, and the leme is hare-
bf suspended, aad that this Aot take et--
r00t and b0 in r0200 r-5 ad aftor it8
paeeage,and it, is so onaoted.m
Art1010 III, Sootfon 39, of the Texas Constitution
provides:
-0 law paeeed by the Legislature,
lsoept the CanomLAppmpriatlon Aot,
shall take erreot or go Into roroo tan-
tll nlne.ty (?p4 daya after the adjourn-
ment or the nSe~0n atrhiah it wae an-
aoted, unless in oan of ea emergemy,
whiah e~orgenoy must be expressed in a
Honorable xortimer Erow, May 17, 1939, Page 4
pr8aIUbl8or in the body Or the Act, th8
Leglslature.shall, by a vote 0r two-
thirds of all the membberselected to
eaah House, otherwiss direat; said vote
to be taken by yeas and nays, end anter-
ed upon the Journal."
The not8 at the and Or this Act eppeerhg at p-8
1197 of the General and Special Laws Of Texas, 1937# Regu-
lar Session, shows that this Aot was finally passed by the
House In adoptInS a Confer8nCe Committee Report on Xay 20,
1937, by a vote or 115 yeae, 6 nays; and passed by the San-
ate by the l&ptlon of a Conferenoe Comittee Report oa Hey
Bl, 1937, by a rote of.87 ysae and 1 nay. It la aleo ladi-
oated that this Aot N approved Jane 9. 1959.
Yor varloua purposes three datme are of *rt-
auoolnoonstNlngthls Aat. That is, JbnoO,l9SP, the
date upon whloh tho Aot as am uiaotmont of the kgi8lattmo
hoam dr00tiY0; July 1, 19s0, the date as or which the
Rotlreaent systam was ostabllshed; aml Septabor 1, 19939,
being the bs&aiag f3r ths rint ash001 ysu, the date up-
on whioh oertaln pmvleloaa of the Aot beau operative.
Whea referring to .theee various datos~tno .&ode-
latum by apt 1aaguyrS $.%msay lMtaMo8 Sp~l&ll~ indl-
oatod the date whloh was lntekded. Ybr exemplo~,..~~-8eotlon'
S, Bubdirislon 1, whlsh protidoe that "all period who ars
teaohus on the data a! on~whioh the EWinrsnt ,Byskn le
eetabllshed ehall beoomo memborm am got. that :&to, .otoi?,!
ordinarily rhan 20r0dmg to Wptsmber 1 wm Aot *akm or
thsi?%~!mineOftho~#hodl ~~r~19S7-lQsW,or @me elm-
llar *xpree8lon; We reoogniu .that la som8 lmturoes the
Aot may mealy rrrer to tho ten -yoarF, or mm0 other.tom
valoh( when taken to@harwlth its @ntext,:may ore8ta
same smblgulty or doubt, hut In Soetlon S, 8ubeaotloa 8,
uhero tho Act rorem to Wm data on uhioh this Aof beoaes
effeotlre? we do not think that la thle lnetanoo the oontut
plainly requlree a'dlrr0rcmt nbmaiinsthan that exgreeeed.
In answer to your fleet puestlonyou are, thare-
fore, advised that the date upon uhioh Senate Blll Xo. 47
beoame effeotive, ss that term la ueed ln Saotlon S, Stab-
eeotlon 6, wee JQna QG,"lBS7. Cur anewar to this question
renders itunneoeeearyto answer the third.
In your woond uo8tloa
that it night be tba opin1 on oi thti?d:p~::y&i?%o
Honorable ~ortlmer Bmwn, May 17, 1939, Page 5
Xot b8oaMi efr8otiV8 within the provlsions'or Seotion 3,
Subsection 5, on Se@tember 1, 1937, and In order to epe-
clfically dispose of the problem you hhve In mind we will
assume that e teacher secured a contrect prior to June 9,
1939, with s public school that cells for his servioee to
begin ae soon as that school opens for the next regular
school term.
Referring t0 S8CtiOn 1, Subsection 3, we note
that there we two requlremnts sst out in the doiinltion
of a teeaher. One or these requirtxmnte 18 that Wteaoherw
shell meen a pereon employed upon e full time, ro@ar eel-
ary basis; and, eeoond, that a *teaoher shall aeau 8 parson
rendering service to organized pub110 lduoation la proroe-
llonal and bueineee administration and eupervlelon,aud In
lnetruotlon, in pub110 eohoole, as defined in Subeeotlon8
0r this 0aot1on.= We do not think that *mudsrlng eon100
to organlsed publio eduaatlonal eta ., wa s lnto ndo d to mo a n
that la order to be a tsaohar, as defined la thla Aa%,- that
tbs pora~n *ould neoeesarlly have to b el t.that'tlmq ~rqtu-
oily engsgod in euoh eervlce, but ratherth&-thla *mti.-
elon 18 deeorlptlreor the type or work naosssaryto bo
performad to qualify es a teacher. Thle oonet~otlon bs-
oomo& more evident when rarious wotlonr or tlmAot are 'aon-
lldsrsd, euah as Seotlon S, Subeeotlon 1, whloh prpvldoe
that all persons who are teaahue on the date.ae at whloh
the Betlrament 9 etsm 1s aetabllshed shall beooie mmberk,
.beomse lt le QUz$0 evident that it was lntendsd by euoh
notion to reaoh every pereon engaged in the proiseslon of
a k8oher, when, la hot. tho date ypon whloh the Systa
wae established wae July 1, and as a matter 41 oomon
kaowleQe very few teaohere wbre aotually sawed la rsn-
doring the eervloe deflnad at that tlms.
Wo oen think of many lnetaaoee whloh may raise
serious quaetione as to whether a person who la fully quaI-
ifled to teaoh has aotuelly been amployed as a teaohsr eo
ae to be entltlad to the benefits of Seotlon 3, Subseotlon
5. In such oases dt doubt we think thst Seotfon 1, Subeao-
tion 3. plaoee it within the discretion of the Retiranent
Board of Truetees to determine dhether such psreon is a
teacher as defined In thie hct.
In answer'& your second and fourth questions,
it is our opinion thst the Retlremnt Board of Trustees
may determine whether a pereon ha8 bean employed as a
feeoher as contemplated by Section SI Subeeotloa 6, Of
Honorable Mortfmer Brown, May 17, 1939, Page 6
the Teacher Retiremeat hot prior to June 9, 1939, subjeot
to the limitstion, however, you should recognize an a
teaaher a porson who has secured e bona tide written aon-
tract prior to June 9, 1939, thut calls lor his senloea
ta begin as soon as that sohool opens for the next regu-
lar school term.
Yours very truly
ATTOPNXX GEXICRALOF T!SXAS
APPROVZD: