I'm no lawyer, either, and I haven't even verified what you quoted from the Codes, but what you quoted in Sec. 8.008 says that for the purposes of Chapter 556, GC, the ESC's are considered state agencies. I also said that the ESC's receive some state funds (I said TEA funds, but TEA is a state agency) for some of their functions, but from my dealings with the ESC's and their employees, I maintain that the bulk of their funding comes from contracts with the schools. Unfortunately, I realize, I have no proof of that assertion.Darwood wrote:I started looking at Education Code and it does appear that ESC's might actually be a state agency.barres wrote:The ESC's are in the gray area of what constitutes a school. Students do visit the ESC's for testing and other services, but they are not regularly there. Much like students visit the zoos around the state, but a zoo isn't a school. ESC's are governed by TEA, but they are a support structure for schools, paid for by some TEA funds, but mostly by contracts with local school districts.
My personal opinion, and I visit several ESC's on a somewhat regular basis, is that they are not schools, but private corporations regulated by the Education Code. I would, therefore (and have, I've been to the ESC for Region 20), treat the 30.06 signs as valid, unless they lease their premises from a governmental entity. IMHO, IANAL, YMMV, etc.
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... .htm#8.003" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Also in Chapter 8 it does mention where their funding comes from:Sec. 8.008. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN LAWS RELATING TO POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. A regional education service center and each center employee is subject to Chapter 556, Government Code, and for purposes of that chapter:
(1) the center is considered to be a state agency; and
(2) each center employee is considered to be a state employee.
It goes on. This all leads me to believe that the ESC's are state agency's, of course I'm not a lawyer nor have I read all of Chapter 8 yet...Sec. 8.121. FUNDING FOR CORE SERVICES AND SERVICES TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE. (a) Regional education service centers receive state financial support for services provided under Section 8.051 from money appropriated for the Foundation School Program...
I would therefore stand by my assessment (until further info changes my mind) that the ESC's are private entities, with some government funding and control, which are not schools. If 8.008 had not said for the purposes of Chapter 556, then I would argue that the ESC's cannot post binding 30.06 signs. (Darn .) IMHO, YMMV, IANAL, etc.