for not less than six working days, he shall appoint the time and place of said meeting and give due notice to the county superintendent, and for the purpose of defraying the expenses of said institute $50 shall be appropriated annually from any moneys in the State treasury for one such institute in each county, to be expended by the county superintendent.

The county superintendent shall hold annually a normal institute for the instruction of teachers and of those who may desire to teach, and, with the concurrence of the superintendent of public instruction, procure such assistance as may be necessary to conduct the same, at such times as the schools in the county are generally closed. To defray the expenses of said institute he shall require the payment of a registration fee of $1 from each person attending, and shall also require the payment in all cases of $1 from every applicant for a certificate, which he shall transmit to the county treasurer, to form, with the State appropriation, the institute fund. The board of supervisors may appropriate such additional sum as may be necessary for the further support of the institute. During the time of holding a teachers' institute in any county any school that may be in session shall be closed, and all teachers and persons desiring a teacher's certificate are expected to attend.

3. SCHOOLS.

Attendance Course of study—Text-books—Buildings.

Attendance.-In each school corporation there shall be taught one or more schools for the instruction of youth from 5 to 21 years of age for at least twentyfour weeks of five school days each year, unless the county superintendent shall for good cause consent to a shorter time. Any person who was in the military service of the United States during his minority may be admitted on same terms as youth 5 to 21 years. The board may by a majority vote expel any pupil from school for immorality, or for violation of regulations established by the board, or when the presence of such pupil is detrimental to the best interests of the school.

Any person having control of any child 7 to 14 years of age, in proper physical and mental condition to attend school, shall cause such child to attend some public, private, or parochial school, where the common school branches of reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, geography, physiology, and United States history are taught, or to attend upon equivalent instruction by a competent teacher elsewhere than in school, for at least twelve consecutive school weeks in each school year. A child may be excused for sufficient reasons by any court of record or judge thereof. Any person violating this law may be fined from $3 to $20 for each offense. The secretary of a school corporation may require the principal of any private or parochial school to make a report once a year concerning all the pupils in attendance, and of individual pupils at any time it may be considered necessary. And any person having control of a child who is under private instruction must furnish a report when called for by the secretary.

The board may establish truant schools, or set apart separate rooms for such purpose, may appoint truant officers; and when a child becomes habitually vagrant, disorderly, or incorrigible, may commit him to one of the State industrial schools provided for that purpose. It is the duty of the directors and truant officers appointed by the board to see to the enforcement of the law, who, failing to do so, may be fined from $10 to $20 for each offense, after receiving a written notice from any citizen of the district. All teachers of public schools, county superintendents, and school officers and employees shall promptly report violations to the secretary, who shall notify the president, and he shall, if necessary, lay the matter before the board. The board may provide reasonable punishment for habitual truants or those who frequent or loiter about public places during school hours without lawful occupation. The school census shall include a report of all children from 7 to 14 years of age, the number who do not attend school, and the cause of such failure to attend. Transportation of pupils.-(See Organization-School nances-Taxation.)

corporations; Fi

Course of study. The electors at the annual meeting shall have power to determine what branches additional to those adopted by the board shall be taught in the schools of the district, and may direct that German or other language may be taught in one or more of the schools to pupils whose parents or guardians so desire, provided that all other branches shall be taught in the Engish language. The Bible shall not be excluded from any school or insti

tution, but no pupil shall be required to read it contrary to the wishes of his parent or guardian.

Text-books. The board of directors of each school corporation are authorized to adopt text-books for all branches authorized to be taught in the public schools, and to contract for and buy such books and other necessary supplies out of the contingent fund and sell same to pupils of their district at cost, the money received therefor to be returned to said contingent fund. The said board shall annually certify to the board of supervisors the additional amount necessary to be levied for the contingent fund, not to exceed $1.50 in any year for each pupil residing within the corporation; but the board shall not contract any debt for such purpose. In the purchase of text-books it shall be the duty of the board of directors or the county board of education to take into consideration the books then in use in the respective districts, and they may buy such additional number of text-books as may from time to time become necessary to supply their schools, and they may arrange on equitable terms for exchange of books in use for new books adopted. If at any time the publishers of such books as have been adopted shall neglect or refuse to furnish them at the lowest price furnished any district or State board, then the board of directors or county board of education shall bring suit upon the publishers' bond. Before purchasing text-books under the provisions of this act the board of directors or county board of education shall advertise, by publishing a notice for three consecutive weeks in one or more newspapers published in the county, stating the time up to which bids shall be received, the classes and grades for which text-books and other necessary supplies are to be bought, and the approximate quantity needed: and the board shall award the contract for the textbooks and supplies to any responsible bidder or bidders offering suitable textbooks and supplies at the lowest prices, taking into consideration the quality of material used, illustrations, binding, and all other things that go to make up a desirable text-book, and may, to the end that they may be fully advised, consult the county superintendent, or, in the case of town or city independent districts, with city superintendent or other competent persons, with reference to the selection of text-books. It shall be unlawful for any board of directors or county board of education to change within five years, except as provided for above, any text-book that has been regularly introduced, unless authorized to do so by a majority of the electors present and voting at the regular annual meeting, due notice having been given.

Any person desiring to furnish books or supplies to the county shall deposit in the office of the county superintendent samples of all text-books included in his bid, accompanied with lists giving lowest wholesale and contract prices; and every successful bidder shall enter into sufficient bond for the faithful performance of his contract.

When a petition signed by one-third of the school directors in a county shall be filed in the office of the county superintendent at least thirty days before the annual school election in March asking for uniformity of text-books in the county, the county superintendent shall notify the county auditor and board of supervisors in writing, and the county board of education (composed of the auditor, superintendent, and supervisors) shall convene and arrange for a vote upon the question by the electors. Should a majority of the electors voting at said election favor a uniform series of text-books for use in the county, the county board shall select the text-books for the entire county outside of cities and towns and contract for the same, and the public schools shall use the books so selected. The board may arrange for depositories and may pay for the books from county funds and sell them to districts at same price, proceeds to be returned to the county funds by the county board monthly. Cities and towns may vote to adopt and buy books at prices fixed by county board.

Whenever a petition signed by one-third of the legal voters of a corporation asks for a vote on free text-books, the question shall be submitted at the next annual meeting. If the proposition carries, the board shall procure such books as shall be needed, in the manner provided by law for the purchase of text-books, and shall loan them to pupils free of expense. The electors may direct the board to discontinue supplying free books.

Buildings.-School buildings and their appurtenances, their construction, and the purchase of sites are under the control of the board of the school corporation. All schoolhouses erected or repaired at a cost exceeding $300 shall be by contract after advertisement in a newspaper published in the county, or one published nearest its boundaries if there be none published in the county. (See also Organization-School corporations; subdirectors.)

4. FINANCES.

Funds (permanent or special)—Taxation.

Funds (permanent or special).—The educational and school funds and lands shall be under the control and management of the general assembly of this State, and the money subject to the support and maintenance of common schools shall be distributed to the districts in proportion to the number of youths between the ages of 5 and 21 years in such manner as may be provided by the general assembly.

The university lands and the proceeds thereof, and all moneys belonging to said fund, shall be a permanent fund, for the sole use of the State University. The interest arising from the same shall be annually appropriated for the support and benefit of said university. The general assembly shall take measures for the protection, improvement, or other disposition of such lands as have been or may hereafter be reserved or granted by the United States or any person or persons to this State for the use of the university, and the funds accruing from the rents or sale of such lands or from any other source for the purpose aforesaid shall be and remain a permanent fund, the interest of which shall be applied to the support of the university, for the promotion of literature, the arts, and sciences, as may be authorized by the terms of such grant. And it shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide effectual means for the improvement and permanent security of the funds of said university.

The proceeds of all lands that have been granted by the United States for the support of schools which shall hereafter (1857) be sold or disposed of, and the 500,000 acres of land granted to the new States under an act of Congress distributing the proceeds of the public lands among the several States of the Union, approved in the year of our Lord 1841, and all estates of persons who may have died without leaving a will or heir, and also such per cent as may have been granted by Congress on the sale of lands in this State, shall be and remain a perpetual fund, the interest of which, together with all rents of the unsold lands and such other means as the general assembly may provide, shall be inviolably appropriated to the support of common schools throughout the State.

The money which may have been or shall be paid by persons as an equivalent for exemption from military duty, and the clear proceeds of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws, shall be exclusively applied, in the several counties in which such money is collected, among the several school districts of said counties in proportion to the number of youths subject to enumeration in such districts to the support of the common schools.

The financial agents of school funds shall be the same that by law receive and control the State and county revenue for other civil purposes, under such regulations as may be provided by law.

Tarction. The board of directors shall, at their regular meeting in March, or at a special meeting for the purpose before the first Monday in May, estimate the amount required for the contingent fund, not to exceed $5 a pupil (except where pupils are transported to other districts, when $5 additional for each pupil may be levied), and also such sum as may be required for the teachers' fund in addition to the amount received from the semiannual apportionment of the income of the State fund, together not to exceed $15 a pupil residing in the district; and shall cause the secretary to certify the same, together with the amount voted for schoolhouse purposes, not to exceed 10 mills on the dollar, within five days thereafter to the board of supervisors, who shall levy the per centum upon the property of the school corporation, which shall be collected and paid over as are other district taxes; and they shall apportion any tax voted by the school township meeting for a schoolhouse fund among the several subdistricts in a just and equitable manner, taking as the basis of such apportionment the respective amounts previously levied upon the subdistricts; but if the electors of a subdistrict have increased the sum for schoolhouses above that voted by the school township at its meeting, the county supervisors shall levy such excess on the subdistrict asking it, provided that not more than 15 mills on the dollar shall be levied on the taxable property of any subdistrict during any year for schoolhouse purposes. The board of supervisors shall also at the same time levy a tax for the support of schools within the county of not less than 1 nor ma than 3 mills on the dollar on all property in the county, receivable only in cash

KANSAS.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State board of education-State school fund commission—State superintendent— County superintendent-County high school trustees--County board of examiners-District board of directors-Truant officers-City board of education. State board of education.-(See Teachers-Appointment, qualifications, and duties.)

State school fund commissioners. (See Finances-Funds.)

State superintendent.-There shall be elected biennially a State superintendent of public instruction, who shall execute at the time of taking the oath of office a bond in the sum of $10,000, with two or more sureties, conditioned on his faithfully performing the duties of his office. The educational interests of the State shall be under his supervision and management, subject to such limitations as are prescribed by law. He may appoint an assistant superintendent of public instruction, who shall perform such duties, not inconsistent with law, as his principal may prescribe. He may also appoint a clerk, who shall also act as clerk of the board of commissioners for the management and investment of the school funds. The State superintendent shall distribute the income of the State school fund and the annual taxes collected by the State for the support of the common schools to the counties reporting to him in a proper manner. Upon a written statement of the facts submitted by county superintendent or by board of education, he shall give an opinion on all questions regarding the rights, powers, and duties of school district boards, school officers, and county superintendents, advising with the attorney-general, if he deem it necessary. He shall publish the school laws not oftener than once in two years, and therewith such other forms, regulations, etc., as he may deem expedient. He shall prepare all forms and blanks necessary in the details of the common school system, so as to secure its uniform operation, and cause them to be forwarded to the county superintendents. He shall visit the schools of each county at least once in two years, shall recommend the most approved text-book's, and open such correspondence as may enable him to obtain all necessary information relating to the system of common schools in other States. He shall have an office at the capitol, where he shall keep the records of his office and such school material or books as he may receive by virtue of his position. He shall make a report biennially, on the 1st day of December preceding each regular session of the legislature, to the governor, in which he shall give (1) a statement of the number of common schools in the State, the number of scholars attending the same, by sex, and the branches taught; the number of normal schools in the State and the number of students attending them; the number of academies and colleges in the State and the number of students and their sex, and such other matters as he may deem expedient, drawn from the reports of the county superintendents or other local school officers; (2) a statement of the condition of the common school fund of the State for the support of common schools, and giving a full statement of the school land account of each county; (3) a statement of the receipts and expenditures for the year; (4) a statement of plans for the management and improvement of common schools, and such other information relating to the educational interests of the State as he may deem important.

The county superintendent.-A superintendent of public instruction shall be elected in each county biennially, who shall, when sworn in, give bond in the sum of $1,000, conditioned on the faithful discharge of his duties. It shall be his duty to visit each school in his county at least once during each year (subject to fine of $5 for each school not visited), correct any deficiency that may exist in the government of the school, the classification of the pupils, or the methods of instruction in the several branches taught, and make such suggestions in private to the teachers as he may deem proper and necessary to the welfare of the school; note the character and condition of the schoolhouse, furniture, apparatus, and grounds, and report in writing to the district board, suggesting improvements; examine the record books and accounts of district officers; encourage the formation of teachers' associations and to attend their meetings; attend the normal held in his county and inspect its daily work and assist therein; hold a public meeting in each school district of his county at least once every year for the purpose of discussing school questions and elevating the standard of education; keep his office open Saturday of each week, and when receiving

more than $600, every day when not absent attending to his official duties; keep and preserve a record of his official acts, of the teachers employed, and of candidates for employment in his county; apportion the State school fund within five days, together with the unapportioned county school fund, among the school districts and parts of districts in the county, according to the population of school age, but no district in which a common school has not been taught at least three months the last preceding school year shall be entitled to receive any portion of either the State or county fund; furnish the county clerk with a description of the boundary of each school district. He shall make out and transmit in writing to the State superintendent a report containing the following particulars: Number of school districts or parts of districts in each county, number of children (by sex) resident in each county over 5 and under 21 years, number of district schools in the county, length of time school has been taught in each, number of pupils attending the same (by sex), branches taught, and text-books used, number of teachers employed in same (by sex); number of private or select schools in the county as far as ascertainable, number of teachers employed in same (by sex) and branches taught; number of graded schools in the county, duration of school, attendance( by sex), branches taught, and the number and sex of teachers employed in same; condition of the normal school, if any, attendance (by sex), number and sex of teachers employed in same, and the same particulars for the normal institute; amount of public money received in each district or part of district, and what portion of same, if any, has been appropriated to the support of graded schools; amount of money raised in each district by tax and paid for teachers' wages in addition to public money paid therefor; amount of money raised by tax or otherwise for the purpose of purchasing school sites, for building, hiring, purchasing, repairing, furnishing, or insuring such schoolhouse, or for any other purpose allowed by law, in each district or part of district.

The annual compensation of the county superintendent shall be as follows: In counties of 1,000 to 1,200 persons of school age, $600; 1,200 to 1,500, $700; more than 1,500, $700 and $20 for each additional 100. In counties having a school population of less than 1,000 the superintendent shall receive for every day actually and necessarily employed in the discharge of his duties the sum of $3 per diem, for a number of days not to exceed 150 in any one year. But no county superintendent shall receive more than $1,200, and in determining the salaries of county superintendents the school population of cities of the first and second class shall not be included.

The county superintendent shall fill vacancies occurring in the board of directors of any school district. In case of his death, resignation, or removal his successor shall be appointed by the board of county commissioners. He shall divide the county into a convenient number of school districts, which he shall be at liberty to change or abolish when public interest requires it, but no new school district shall be formed containing fewer than 15 persons of school age, and none having a bonded indebtedness shall be so reduced that such indebtedness shall exceed 5 per cent of its assessed property valuation. He shall purchase record books for district officers.

County high school trustees. (See Schools-Character of instruction.) County board of examiners.-(See Teachers-Appointment, qualifications, and duties.)

District board.—An annual meeting of each school district shall be held on the third Thursday in June of each year, at the schoolhouse belonging to the district, at 2 p. m. The powers of a district meeting shall be to choose a director, clerk, and treasurer, who shall have the qualifications of voters; to designate a site for a district schoolhouse; to vote a tax annually, not to exceed 2 per cent on the taxable property of the district, and distribute the amount between the payment of teachers and in purchasing or leasing a site; to determine the length of time a school shall be taught (not less than three months), and whether the school money to which the district may be entitled shall be applied to the support of the summer or winter term or a certain portion to each.

The officers of each school district shall be a director, clerk, and treasurer, who shall constitute the district board, one member retiring annually after a term of three years. The director shall preside at all meetings, sign all orders drawn by the clerk for district money, and represent the district in all legal proceedings. The clerk of the district board, in addition to the usual perfunctory

ED 1904 M-21