Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1159 Page: 2 of 4
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Honorable Bob McFarland - Page 2 (JM-1159)
department for action as conduct indicating a
need for supervision under Section 51.03(b),
Family Code.
As you can see, the provision does not allow the
attendance officer to "file a complaint" against the child,
rather it requires him to refer the child to the county
juvenile probation department.1 The same period of absence
from school without parental consent is identified in
subsection (b)(2) of section 51.03 of the Family Code as
"conduct indicating a need for supervision." Fam. Code
51.03(b)(2).
You next ask whether a state district court has exclu-
sive jurisdiction to adjudicate the complaint or referral
described in your first question. Section 51.04 of the
Family Code governs jurisdiction over cases involving
delinquent conduct or conduct indicating need of super-
vision. Section 51.04(b) requires the juvenile board, in
counties that have one, to designate a court in the county
as the juvenile court, and section 51.04(c) requires a panel
of judges in a county that has no juvenile board to
designate one or more courts as juvenile courts. Section
23.001 of the Government Code provides that a district
court, county court, or statutory county court exercising
any of the constitutional jurisdiction of either a county
court or a district court may be designated as a juvenile
court. Thus, there is no state-wide rule covering juris-
diction in cases involving conduct indicating need of
supervision.
Finally, you ask whether a justice of the peace court
can exercise jurisdiction over the parent of a child
exhibiting the absentee behavior described in your first
question at the same time the child is subject to adjudica-
tion in the juvenile court. Section 4.25(a) of the Educa-
tion Code provides for sanctions against the parent of an
absentee student in addition to the referral of the child to
the county juvenile probation department. The section first
provides for the attendance officer to warn the parent or
1. Because your questions are phrased in a general
manner, we do not qualify our general answers with regard to
compulsory attendance exceptions, such as the age of the
child, the child's enrollment in private school, or the
child's handicapped status. See Educ. Code 21.032,
21.033.p. 6116
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: JM-1159, text, April 19, 1990; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273597/m1/2/?q=%22Mattox%2C%20Jim%22: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.