Can a Texas school principal refuse a teacher the district wants to transfer to the campus?

Texas AG Opinion DM-0027: A Principal May Approve All Teacher and Staff Hires, Including Transfers

Plain-English summary

A House committee chair asked the Attorney General to settle a split among school districts over Education Code section 13.352(d). That provision says each principal "shall approve all teacher and staff appointments" for the campus, from a district-selected pool, using criteria the principal develops after informal consultation with the faculty. Some districts read it to cover only newly hired teachers, leaving the district free to transfer teachers onto a campus without the principal's consent. There was also a question about whether the approval power reaches all staff or only instructional staff.

The Attorney General read the provision broadly on both points. On transfers, nothing in the statute limits the principal's approval authority to teachers newly hired by the district, and nothing makes the principal bound by the district administration's transfer decisions. The 1990 amendment that produced this language was meant to give principals more control over their campuses and more accountability for campus conditions and student achievement. Letting the district force transferred teachers onto a campus would undercut the principal's power to shape the campus through campus-specific criteria. So the approval authority covers teachers transferring within the district, and a principal need not accept a transferred teacher.

On the scope question, the history pointed the same way. Before the 1990 amendment, the principal's role reached only the selection of teachers. The amended statute speaks of "all teacher and staff appointments." That is clear authority for the principal to exercise discretion over staff positions as well as instructional ones, so it covers campus staff such as librarians, counselors, nurses, and custodians.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1991. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. The Education Code was substantially recodified in 1995, so the principal-approval provision now appears at a different section number, and its text may have changed. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule or citation mentioned here.

Common questions

Can a Texas principal turn down a teacher the district transfers in?
Under this opinion, yes. The Attorney General concluded section 13.352(d) gives the principal authority to approve all teacher appointments, and that authority is not limited to new hires, so a principal is not required to accept a district transfer.

Does the principal's approval power cover non-teaching staff?
Yes. The opinion read "all teacher and staff appointments" to include staff positions like librarian, counselor, nurse, and custodian, not just instructional staff.

What was the point of the 1990 amendment?
To give principals more control over their campuses and greater accountability for campus conditions and student achievement, which the opinion used to support reading the approval power broadly.

Background and statutory framework

Education Code section 13.352(d), in its post-1990 form, directed each principal to approve all teacher and staff appointments for the campus from a district-selected applicant pool, based on criteria the principal develops after informal consultation with the faculty. The opinion compared the pre- and post-amendment text: before, the principal could only "participate in the selection of teachers," and the amendment (part of the 1990 special-session school legislation aimed at principal accountability and campus performance) broadened the role to approval of "all teacher and staff appointments." From that text and history, the opinion concluded the approval authority extends to teachers transferring within the district, so a principal is not bound by district transfer decisions, and reaches all campus staff, not just instructional positions.

Citations

Statutory provisions:

• TEX. EDUC. CODE ANN. § 13.352(d) (principal approval of teacher and staff appointments)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/dan-morales/dm-0027
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1991/dm0027.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

Office of the Attorney General
State of Texas

DAN MORALES
ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 4, 1991

Honorable Ernestine V. Glossbrenner
Chairman
Public Education Committee
Texas House of Representatives
P. O. Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910

Opinion No. DM-27

Re: Whether section 13.352(d) of the Texas Education Code authorizes a principal of a public school to reject teachers who are transferred by the school district, or voluntarily transfer, to his school; and whether the principal's approval authority extends to all school staff (RQ-39)

Dear Ms. Glossbrenner:

You have requested clarification of section 13.352(d) of the Texas Education Code, which provides the following:

(d) Each principal shall:

(1) approve all teacher and staff appointments for that principal's campus from a pool of applicants selected by the district or of applicants who meet the hiring requirements established by the district, based on criteria developed by the principal after informal consultation with the faculty.

You explain that school districts are divided about the interpretation of this provision. "Some districts believe it to mean the principal must approve only newly hired teachers and that the law does not give the principal authority to reject (1) teachers who are transferred to his/her campus by the school district administration or (2) teachers whom the district approves for voluntary transfer to his/her campus." You also ask whether the provision extends to the "assignment of all campus staff (including such positions as librarian, counselor, nurse, custodian)" or whether it applies only to instructional staff.

Section 13.352(d) was amended to its present form in 1990. A comparison of the pre- and post-amendment versions indicates that the purpose of the amendment was to give principals more control over their campuses with a view to greater principal accountability for campus conditions and student achievement. See also Bill Analysis S.B. 1, 71st Leg., 6th C.S. (1990) "Accountability and Incentive Elements" (Campus Performance Objectives); Senate Educ. Comm. Synopsis of S.B. 1, Accountability and Incentive Elements of Senate Bill 1, Sixth Called Session (Principals) (1990) at 3; HOUSE RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, WRAP UP OF THE 1990 SPECIAL SESSIONS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION, at 36-47 (July 31, 1990). Before amendment, section 13.352(d) merely authorized principals to "participate in the selection of teachers for that principal's campus." Nothing in the language of the statute suggests that the principal's authority to approve the appointment of a teacher to his campus is restricted to teachers newly hired by the district or that the principal is bound by transfer decisions of the district administration. Furthermore, the statute recognizes the principal's authority to make selection decisions based on criteria "developed by the principal after informal consultation with the faculty," i.e., criteria unique to the particular campus. The principal's authority to shape his campus through application of unique criteria would be diminished in derogation of section 13.352(d) if the school district could mandate the principal's acceptance of transferred teachers. We therefore find that the approval authority granted by the provision extends to teachers transferring within the district.

We believe that the language and history of section 13.352(d) also answer your second question. Prior to the 1990 amendment, the principal's role in the selection process for his campus extended only to the selection of teachers. The provision now establishes the principal's authority over "all teacher and staff appointments." This is clear authority for the principal to exercise his discretion in selecting individuals to fill staff as well as instructional positions on his campus.

SUMMARY

Section 13.352(d) of the Texas Education Code grants authority to public school principals to approve all teacher and staff appointments on their campuses. They are therefore not required to accept teachers approved for transfer to their campuses by the school district administration.

DAN MORALES
Attorney General of Texas

WILL PRYOR
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY (Ret.)
Special Assistant Attorney General

RENEA HICKS
Special Assistant Attorney General

Madeleine B. Johnson
Chair, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Faith Steinberg
Assistant Attorney General