This opinion piece was written by ATPE Governmental Relations Manager Jennifer Canaday in response to a May 14 opinion issued by the Texas Attorney General.

On May 14, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued a formal opinion on school districts’ authority to process payroll deductions. The opinion, which primarily deals with voluntary contributions to political action committees such as the ATPE Political Action Committee (ATPE-PAC), was issued in response to a 2008 request by Rep. Leo Berman (R–Tyler) and a recent follow-up inquiry by Rep. Rob Eissler (R–The Woodlands). The opinion is not legally binding, but it is intended to clarify existing laws. In it, Abbott writes of the origin of a school districts’ “authority”: “Under longstanding Texas case law, school districts have only that authority expressly or impliedly granted by the Legislature … Because the Legislature has not expressly or impliedly authorized school districts to process payroll deductions for contributions to [PACs], Texas law prohibits school districts from processing such contributions.”

ATPE believes that Abbott’s opinion ignores the important principle of local control—well established in the Texas Education Code—that empowers local school boards with any authority not specifically given to other state entities. State law expressly requires school districts to process payroll deductions for their employees’ membership dues to organizations such as ATPE, and it also authorizes deductions for other payments on debts, certain long-term investments, health care and child care expenses. The law is silent on deductions for other purposes, such as political donations, donations to charities and purchases of various services. In the absence of any specific prohibition in state law, ATPE contends that school districts are fully entitled to offer their employees the convenience of payroll deduction of the employees’ own money for any of these purposes. Furthermore, because ATPE-PAC only solicits donations from our own membership, we believe that payroll deductions for PAC donations are simply incidental to the already mandatory deductions that school districts must make (upon an employee’s request) for ATPE membership dues.

The attorney general’s opinion has far-reaching implications that impinge on school district employees’ ability to enjoy the same conveniences that exist in most employment settings. If school districts were to go along with Abbott’s interpretation of the law, their employees would most likely lose the ability to use payroll deduction not only for PAC contributions, but also for participation in charitable campaigns for outside organizations, donations to school district educational foundations, discounted newspaper subscriptions, investments through credit unions, car insurance premiums and a host of other services provided by their employers as a convenience through payroll deduction. The attorney general did not issue any opinion on whether district personnel who process payroll deductions for PACs would be in violation of criminal laws.

Berman, along with Reps. Wayne Christian (R–Center) and Phil King (R–Weatherford), held a press conference Monday to celebrate the release of the opinion, which Berman referred to as “a victory for the Republican Party” and for himself. ATPE-PAC makes contributions to both Republican and Democratic party candidates alike, and no candidates are endorsed with ATPE’s name, regardless of party affiliation. In fact, we believe that the majority of legislators from both parties are respectful of educators’ rights to express themselves and to participate in political processes; this is precisely why the Legislature has declined in multiple legislative sessions to adopt any law that would expressly prohibit the use of payroll deduction for school employees’ donations to PACs.

ATPE hopes that school districts will consult with their own legal counsel and not abandon practices that have been taking place for decades based upon a single opinion released in an election year that tramples on the well-established doctrine of local control by school districts.

Questions? Contact ATPE Governmental Relations.