Re: Construction of section 25.0951 of the Texas Education Code, under which a school district may or must file a complaint or referral with a court alleging that a student has failed to attend school as required by law (RQ-0400-GA)

S U M M A R Y

A school district must file a complaint or referral against a student for failure to attend school under section 25.0951(a) of the Education Code within seven school days of the student's tenth unexcused absence. See TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 25.0951(a) (Vernon Supp. 2005). Failure to file within seven school days of the tenth unexcused absence leads to the mandatory dismissal of the complaint or referral by a court. A student who disputes that one or more of the absences were unexcused bears the burden of raising the issue as an affirmative defense under Education Code section 25.094(f) or (g).

A complaint or referral dismissed for the school district's failure to file within seven days of determining that a student has failed to attend school on ten unexcused occasions may not be filed again. A school district may, however, file a new complaint with an unexcused absence that occurred subsequent to the absences noted on the original complaint, but it must do so within seven days of the latest unexcused absence.

A school district may not file a complaint or referral under section 25.0951(b) if the student has accumulated ten unexcused absences by the time the school district is ready to file the case.

Opinion No. GA-0418

The Honorable Harold V. Dutton, Jr.

Chair, Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues

Texas House of Representatives

Post Office Box 2910

Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Re: Retroactivity of Property Code section 5.077(c), which relates to liquidated damages in executory contracts for the sale of real property (RQ-0402-GA)

S U M M A R Y

The general savings clause in Government Code section 311.031 makes retroactive the portion of House Bill 1823 that amended Property Code section 5.077(c) in 2005. Thus, the portion of House Bill 1823 that amended Property Code section 5.077(c) in 2005 controls in any lawsuit the basis of which is a violation of former section 5.077's terms that occurred after September 1, 2001.

Opinion No. GA-0419

The Honorable Richard Slack

Reeves County Attorney

Post Office Box 825

Pecos, Texas 79772

Re: Whether the nepotism statute is applicable to the employment of a sheriff's relative by a private company that operates a county detention center (RQ-0404-GA)

S U M M A R Y

The nepotism statute does not apply to the employment of a sheriff's relative by a private company that operates a county detention center.

For further information, please access the website at www.oag.state.tx.us. or call the Opinion Committee at (512) 463-2110.

TRD-200602047

Stacey Schiff

Deputy Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Filed: April 7, 2006