Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1941 )

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Eonor&gr xortlmer Brown A Zxeoutlre Seere ta,7 Twoher E?drenont mar4 Awtla, Tan* Dear 8irr UJ~no.slved your fro5 the letter written by SW. Jam68 9. tad i;avttabcr 30, 1040, a~ fd.lO~(lr "'i'he 3tate~Board for Vooatlo~l tiuoa- tion, fn cooperation with loal ~ohoolboarda, her beea oondu6tlng6GlIbl'geAOy traialll$promale in aoopentioa dth .theu. is8offioo or Waaa- tion to aeet the awl* for aatlonrrl doieaae P-8=-. z%a80 ~rogmuaa6re 6upportsd enttre- 4 by Federal fW l;proprllrtsb br W&W688 tar ah18 #mpor* alolocal or stat6 m6n.y i* ,awb 674 Honorable Xortlaer Browa, :jage 8 *We are now undertnkllyi nn ex~naafon of this trninfnd ~rO6E+ifl oofgorlaltgwi* tha SUp~kEb6A~ry .A;ct,Md Mw plaKIsas set UQ by the Otilce of Wuoatfon. Under this ox- pnnded progem, training ~111 be offered van- der the maprvlaioa of the Homemakiq Dlvi- aion, .aqrloultureDivision, and Trade and In&atria1 Divl.aion t&rough looal aohool boarda over tha s&e Stnte. Thara an three plans for oonduetlng progrnrnaunder the WAdSUS AobS. ktta6hed is ti -informa- tive ohoular derorlbing theae three plans. hero attaohod are oopler of questions and ~imera as isauad by the u. 3. orria8 or Vluoatlon pertalnlng to the Hatlozial DUenae Program. The problem that is confrontingus 1s whathsr or zot these tatloharaoome within the soap of the state Waohor- ~etfrenent Aat and are eligible to pnrtioipate bherein. In oonalderlag this questlon, I should like to present the following faota for your in- tOl!MtiOII¶ -1. In the majority of oaaea, teaohera will be employed by looal school boards with the oonsant and approval or tha Stats Board for Yooatio~ Sduoation. u& The loon1 aohool board will enter into a oontrsct with the State‘Doard for Booatlonal Bduoatlon for the payment of ionda to oovar the aotual ooat of tha In- *truotionalprogram* The86 funds till bo paid upoq reaaigt of sworn atfidaritr throueb the laouance of a warrant drawn at the raquoat of the ;;tateBoard for vooationel xduoation by the Stata Treaiaumr af Texas 3n a apeoial ao- oount set up by the u. 5. orfioe of 3duoatlon for thla gurpoaa. ‘Phts w&rant 1s lawed to the school degoaltory in the usual manner but must be kagt by the depository iA a 0eOcrc ate aooouat. "3. ~11 teaohera are hired on an emar AOY baris wlth the aatloipated amloyment peri r be- tag for eight wseka or mre, an.4 not longer than _- 675 honorable Uortlmr ?rovm, Fage 3 uatll June 30, 194.. “4. Teachers my be hired by the Stat& B00a forVooatlonal zauostisn on a 3tatc wide Itinerate basis and pald aularlea out of apeolal runas ae?oaItaa with tho State Treasurer Sor such purpose8~ -5. ?!enchoraare hired both on a part- time and full-tfnu basis. In ocmaldering the guestion of teaohsr retlremmt, 0.4 full-tlms teaohara aen be.aoasIdored. Ho queatloa has arisen Insofar as part-tlas teaahars are oonoarned,axoapt as stated below. *a. Regulerly emplsysd aohool teaahors my teach a llmi ted auabtr of hnura In the IfiT;rogram 88 set up under Flen 5, and rb- oelre thereror additional salary for this partdIms work that Is done outside and ex- aluaira of their regular teaohing dutlaa. In no ease oan any teaoher teaah more than a total of 40 hours olaa. work per week. Wp to the present time, all taaohsrs hired on this program hsve beea emgloye4 on a tsmgorary thres months besfa, whlah ellm- Imitea then fros pirtIolpatlon. Und6r thq new regulationsoffeotIva as of thla dete, taaohsra may work until June m,, 1941.” Seotion IS mbaeotion 8 of the Toaoher ZZetiremsnt I, Auua!"". 45th Lag., 19a9, ch. 490, Pam 1198) reads as roi- .(2k *TublIa Sohool* ahsll mean any educational organizatfonsu?portoa wholly or partly by the statn under tha authority ana aupervIaIon of a legally oonatitutea board or agenoy havIry authority and re- aponaIbIlltyfor any fUAOtiOA of yblfo i eduoat1on.w ;iJ, seetlon 1, subsootion 9 0r the da hot r6aas u followa: ‘\ 6’76 Honorable ldortinrer drown, Tago 4 “(31 *Twoher’ shall 9eim a person eaploysd on a full-tiao, refgLbr-aala baair by board8 of ooamon 8ohool dlstr 9:at8, board8 ot independent aohaol districts, ooun- ty sohcal board*, Eetfremnt Board of Trus- teae, State Board 31 xduelrtlon and >tato De- ;artaeat of Bduoatlon, board8 of rqpnta of oollegea and uniruraities, ard any other legal1 oonetituted board or agenoy of an lduoat Ional lnatitutionor orGanlzation sup- - ported wholly or part& by the Jtats. In all uasea of doubt, the Retlrment Boarhor Truetees, hereinafterdefined. ahall dater- mlna whether a person is a teacher aa dailmd In tillsAct. A teuohor shall man a prson renaerrng rsnloe to organized mu3lio etduaa- tion in profeomloml and business admiciotra- tion and aupsrrislonaad lnstruotion In publio aohoolm aa delined In subasotlon (2) of this sootkm.* (UrdsrsoorlnG owe). Ssotion 1. 3ubeeOtZon 3 of said hot reads as fol- lows; +) W+oyer* ahall ~080. t&s State of TOXU and any or ita dralgnated agent@ or agencies with reaponribilftyand authority for publfo eduoatlon, suoh as the a~amolt and lndependeat eohool boards, the boards of regentr of et&a colleges nnd unirorsitles, the oountp eohool boarda, or any other a+pnoy or and within the State by whloh a psrson cay be ~eagloyedfor service in :;ublio eduoation.* or we understand the faots, t&e teachers in ques- tion are hired by the looal aahaol board. The board deter- mines and passer upon the qualificationsof said teaoherm. These teaohers are under the aontrol and 8ugervlalonof the looal oohool Xoard and Iask to the board for their salaries. ‘:..e cm of the o_rlnion that mob tnats clmrly ahor that the looal sohool board is the employer of ths tonohsrs in ;ue6- t3.m within the meaning of 3eotion 1, 3ubseotfon 5 of the Teacher ?etlrement Act. Yhether or not the pmrsons in opestian are oowred by the Teaoher Rebirement.2otdepend8 upon whether they are ~teacherP as that tam is deilned 15 Setfor, 1, Sui.5eOtiO5 Honorable Yortlnrer ~rowa, Rage 5 3 OS the AOt. This soothn that *@Teaoher* daall provides yyaqaM?eroon omplorod on a full-thus, regular aalar baa18 (%Rhasia ours), lG7aZreroal fikX-Efi?oY ployoXa In quo&Ian may teach up to forty ($1 hours ger WOOk. Couraoa say be oiiered at any tIao duutiagtho twenty- Soar (24) hwra of the day. The loagth or the daily oehod- ulo and training period ia not Shod, but depend8 upon the need8 oS the jobs Sor whIoh traIaIag is given. X0 are In- Somod that the ontlre 2rograa is 8amwhat tom;;orary la nature and *ill sxglro Sun0 30, 1941, ualoaa othoruS.30ox- totied. Suboootlon S of Soo,tIon1 OS oaid Aot rrorldoa Surthor that *A teaoher shall mean 5 ;Mraon rendering EON- ioo to organlzed pub110 bduoetlan l + * in pub110 sohoola.* (Bmphaair ours). It nay be that In aortain al6uatlono tibia pert of Subaootion 3 would eroludo aoao OS the pereons in quoatlon iron the rrorfaton OS the ,iot. Subaeotlon 3 of Seotloa 1, after deSInIng the ward •toaohor,~ provIdo8 Surthor that 'Ia all oaaeo OS dxxbt, the Rotlroaoat Board of Tr u r teo a l l * shall doter- mIn0 whether a poreon Ia-a.toaohor08 deilnod In thla hot.* ~8 aro OS the oRlnIon that It la doubtSu1 whether thoao ~eraona~ongagod in the Ratloaal DoSon& TraIaIae Pragraa, oonduotod ruder.the aupmvloion oS the State Board For Vo- oational ZduoatIon, are *teaohora* ulthfn the arsanIagOS the Teaoher Rotlreaont hot. It sollowa that this la a aat- tar Sor the RotIroment Board OS Trustee8 to droldo. wr ttia reason wo do not aaiwer your seoond question. Yours very truly A’iTCRRHT GSERAL OF TEUS ClOnIl R. Leda Aori atsnt L3rRS