Attorney General Opinion WW-1042

r . THEATTORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS AUSTIN II.TEXAS April 26, 1961 ' Honorable Tom Blackwell OpinionNo. WW-1042 County Attarney Travis County Re:~ Whether a minor who has not Austin, Texas been domiciled in Texas for a period of one year may be admitted to a special school operated by the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools upon appli- cation of his guardian who has resided and been domi- ciled in Texas for more Dear Mr. Blackwell: than a year? You have requested an opinion as to whether a minor who has not been domiciled in Texas for a period of one year may be admitted to a special school operated by the, Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special SchooWupon application of his guardian who has resided and been domiciled,in~Texas for more than a year. Under Article 3871b, Vernon's Civil Statutes, ad- mission of a mentally retarded person to a special school operated by the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools is effected by an application for the admissionof such person "to the Jurisdictionof the Board." Relevant portions of Article 3871b are as follows: "Section 1.~ This ,Act may be referred to as 'The Mentally Retarded Persons Act.' "Sec. 2. It is the purpose of this Act to afford mentally retarded Texas oltizens an opportunity to develop to the fullest practi- cable extent the,ir respective mental capacities. " Sec. 3. As used in this Act: “(1) 'Mentally retarded person' means any person, other than a mentally ill person, so mentally deficient from any cause as to require Honorable Tom Blackwell, Page 2. (WW-1042) special training, education, supervision, treat- ment, care or control for his own or the com- munity's welfare. "(2) 'Texas citizen' means a person who has resided in this State for at least twelve months next preceding the date on which deter- mination is made of whether he is a Texas citi- zen, or a minor whose parent or guardian has been domiciled in Texas for a like period. "(3) 'Board' means the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools. 1, . . . "Sec. 4. Mentally retarded persons shall be admitted to the Jurisdiction of the Board b$ the procedures prescribed in this Act. . . . Section 4 of this Article purports to make admission to the Jurisdiction of the Board available to any mentally re- tarded person, as defined in Section 3, Subsection (1). Sec- tion 2 raises a question as to whether such admission is limited to a sub-class of mentally retarded persons, namely, mentally retarded Texas citizens, as Texas citizenship is de- fined in Section 3, Subsection (2). We need not undertake to answer that question, since the minor in the present case is both a Texas citizen, as defined in Subsection (2) of Sec- tion 3, and a mentally retarded person as mentioned in Sec- tion 4, and so in any ever&is eligible for admission to the jurisdiction of the Board upon the proper finding of mental retardation. S U M~,M A R Y A minor who has not been domiciled in Texas for a period of one year may be admitted to a special school operated by the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools upon application of his guardian who has resided and been domiciled in Texas for more than a year. LH:hmc:zt Very truly yours, - . Honorable Tom Blackwell, Page 3. (VW-1042) APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE W. V.dSppert, Chairman Glenn Brown Houghton Brownlee, Jr. John Leonarz REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: Morgan Nesbitt