Dodd v. Meno

• Decision Date: 12 January 1994
• Docket Number: No. D-3633,D-3633
• Citation: 870 S.W.2d 4
• Parties: 89 Ed. Law Rep. 315 Doris DODD, Petitioner, v. Lionel R. MENO, the State Commissioner of Education, in His Official Capacity, and Successor to William N. Kirby, and Wink-Loving Independent School District, Respondent.
• Court: Texas Supreme Court

Page 4

870 S.W.2d 4

89 Ed. Law Rep. 315

Doris DODD, Petitioner, v. Lionel R. MENO, the State Commissioner of Education, in His Official Capacity, and Successor to William N Kirby, and Wink-Loving Independent School District, Respondent.

No. D-3633.

Supreme Court of Texas.

Jan. 12, 1994.

Rehearing Overruled March 9, 1994.

Mark W. Robinett, Austin, for petitioner.

Frank J. Knapp, Jr., Dan Morales, Austin, for respondent.

PHILLIPS, Chief Justice, delivered the opinion of the Court, joined by GONZALEZ, HECHT, CORNYN, and ENOCH, Justices.

The question in this case is whether a school nurse is a "teacher" within the meaning of the Term Contract Nonrenewal Act (TCNA), TEX.EDUC.CODE §§ 21.201-.211, and thereby entitled to the protections conferred by that statute. We conclude that the Legislature did not intend the TCNA to apply to school nurses, and we therefore affirm the judgment of the court of appeals.

Petitioner Doris Dodd was employed as a full-time school nurse by the Wink-Loving Independent School District under a contract that expired at the end of the 1987-88 school year. By a letter dated March 16, 1988, the board of trustees of the school district notified her of its decision not to employ her for the upcoming year. The letter did not offer any explanation for the decision. Furthermore, the board denied Dodd's request for a hearing on her nonrenewal.

Dodd perfected an appeal to the Commissioner of Education, who considered the case on a joint stipulation of facts and cross-motions for summary judgment. The Commissioner concluded that Dodd was not a "teacher" under the TCNA and denied the appeal. The district court affirmed, as did the court of appeals. 857 S.W.2d 575.

The TCNA provides for automatic renewal of a teacher's term contract unless the school district complies with certain statutory prerequisites. On or before April 1 preceding the end of the employment term, the school board must give written notice of the proposed nonrenewal, including a statement of reasons for the action. Id. § 21.204(a), (c). On request by the teacher within ten days, the board must provide a hearing. Id. § 21.205. This Court recently held that the TCNA gives teachers a constitutionally protected property interest in continued employment. Grounds v. Tolar Independent School District, 856 S.W.2d 417 (Tex.1993). It is clear that the school district did not furnish the procedural safeguards required by the TCNA. Thus, if Dodd is entitled to the statute's protections, her appeal should have been allowed.

The TCNA's protections apply only to an employee who is a "teacher," defined therein as "a superintendent, principal, supervisor, classroom teacher, counselor, or other full-time professional employee, except paraprofessional personnel, who is required to hold a valid certificate or teaching permit." TEX.EDUC.CODE § 21.201(1) (emphasis added). The regulations of the State Board of Education, however, require that a school nurse hold either a "provisional school nurse certificate" issued by the State Board of Education or have a "current registration with the Texas State Board of Nurse Examiners." Tex.Educ.Agency, 19 TEX.ADMIN.CODE § 141.249 (West Apr. 1, 1992). ¹ To receive a provisional school nurse certificate, the individual must have a current registration with the Texas State Board of Nurse Examiners. Id. Thus, all school nurses must hold a current registration with the Board of Nurse Examiners, but not all must have a provisional school nurse certificate.

A provisional school nurse certificate is a type of teaching certificate. See Tex.Educ.Agency, 19 TEX.ADMIN.CODE § 141.2(1) and (2) (West Apr. 1, 1992). The fact that the State Board regulations make it possible for a school nurse to obtain a certificate, however, is not the same as requiring all school nurses to hold such a certificate. The parties to this case stipulated that "[p]etitioner holds no teaching permit or certificate and none was required by the Wink-Loving School District for the position of school nurse."

Dodd nevertheless claims that because section 141.249 of the State Board of Education regulations allow her "current registration with the Texas State Board of Nurse Examiners" to act as an alternative to a certificate, she falls within the definition of a "teacher" as set forth in TEX.EDUC.CODE § 21.201(1). Since the phrase "teaching" modifies only "permit" and not "certificate" in § 21.201(1), she claims that her registration with the State Board of Nurse Examiners is a certificate within the meaning of "valid certificate or teaching permit." We disagree.

The licensure of nurses is separate from the certification described in 19 TEX.ADMIN.CODE ch. 141 and serves different purposes. All of the certificates described in Chapter 141 entail academic prerequisites, and most types of teacher certificates also require professional development in the form of classroom teaching experience or other in-school experience. The clear purpose is to ensure a certain background or level of experience for all teachers and related professionals which will be relevant to their work in the schools. Thus, the provisional school nurse certificate requires not only a bachelor's degree and current registration with the Texas State Board of Nurse Examiners, but also requires satisfactory completion of a course or certification examination in federal and Texas constitutions and satisfactory completion of six semester hours in American history. In contrast, the nursing regulations require an applicant to have graduated from an accredited nursing program and passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. Their evident purpose is to ensure the medical competence and training of those persons serving as nurses in the State.

Furthermore, the definition of "teacher" in section 21.201(1) is virtually identical to that in the subchapter of the Education Code regarding Teachers' Professional Practices, which defines a teacher as "a superintendent, principal, supervisor, classroom teacher, counselor, or other professional employee who is required to hold a valid certificate or teaching certificate." TEX.EDUC.CODE § 13.202(1). It seems clear that "certificate" in section 13.202(1) refers to a certificate issued by the Central Education Agency, since the penalty authorized in that subchapter for violations of the ethical code or standards is "suspension or revocation of the teaching certificate of the member." TEX.EDUC.CODE § 13.211. See Hightower v. State Commissioner of Education, 778 S.W.2d 595, 598 (Tex.App.--Austin 1989, no writ). If the phrase "valid certificate or teaching permit" is to be construed harmoniously in both sections, then it cannot apply to a nursing license, and therefore, a school nurse cannot be a "teacher" within the meaning of that term in TEX.EDUC.CODE. § 21.201(1).

Finally, this case involves a review of an administrative decision of the Commissioner of Education. As we recently noted in Tarrant Appraisal District v. Moore, 845 S.W.2d 820, 823 (Tex.1993): "Construction of a statute by the administrative agency charged with its enforcement is entitled to serious consideration, so long as the construction is reasonable and does not contradict the plain language of the statute." Although we recognize that remedial statutes such as the TCNA are to be construed broadly, see, e.g., Burch v. City of San Antonio, 518 S.W.2d 540, 544 (Tex.1975), we are not inclined to reverse the Commissioner's reasonable determination in an area where he possesses considerable authority and expertise.

Dodd counters by relying on TEX.EDUC.CODE § 16.056(f), which says that "[e]ach person employed in the public schools of this state ... who is assigned to a position classified under the Texas Public Education Compensation Plan must be certified according to the certification requirements or standards for each position as established by rule adopted by the State Board of Education." A school nurse is one of the listed positions in the Compensation Plan. See id. § 16.056(d). However, section 16.056(f) does not create an independent certification requirement. Rather, it adopts the State Board of Education's determination of what certification standards should apply to each classification. See Hightower, 778 S.W.2d at 598. Thus, this statute merely invokes the administrative rules already discussed, which do not require a certificate for employment as a school nurse.

The TCNA's definition of a teacher draws a line between those employees required to hold a certificate and those who are not. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that 19 TEX.ADMIN.CODE § 141.249 places school nurses in the latter category. The court of appeals correctly affirmed the holdings of the trial court and the Commissioner that Dodd was not entitled to invoke the protections of the TCNA.

GONZALEZ, Justice, concurring.

Ms. Dodd, a long-time school nurse with the Wink-Loving Independent School District, with no teaching duties or teaching certificate, filed suit against the District because her employment contract was not renewed and the District did not give her any reasons for its decision. Whether this is good or bad policy is not the issue. The real issue is whether the legislature has given school nurses the same procedural rights regarding notice of reasons for non-renewal of employment contracts that the legislature has given teachers. I agree with the majority of this Court and with Chief Justice Carroll and Justices Jones and Kidd of the Austin Court of Appeals that the legislature did not, intentionally or unintentionally, give school nurses those rights. It would be sound public policy for the legislature to grant school nurses the rights included in the Term Contract Nonrenewal Act--however, this is not our decision to make. We should not re-write statutes under the guise of interpreting them, as the dissent would have us do. I thus join in the opinion and...