Texas Attorney General
Issued Opinion:
Abandoned Cemeteries (KP-0317)
State law allows “property owners,” including ISDs, to maintain an abandoned cemetery as long as the property owner doesn’t construct any improvements that disturb the cemetery. But: The municipality in which the cemetery is located could take control of the cemetery by passing a resolution, and a state district court could authorize a different entity to control or maintain a “historic” cemetery.
The opinion was requested by State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and is the latest development stemming from the well-publicized discovery in 2018 at a Fort Bend ISD construction site of a burial ground containing the graves of 95 African Americans believed to be victims of a long-ended state sanctioned convict leasing system.
Questions arose over a state law that prohibits ISDs from using public education funds for cemetery expenses.