SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL REQUIREMENTS OF LAWS PROVIDING FOR PARTTIME SCHOOLS, BY STATES.1 Education. Vocational Summary, June, 1U. S. Federal Board for Vocational 1919, p. 22. U. S. Bureau of Education. Washington, 1919. "Every child who possesses an employment certificate and has not completed elementary schools. Every city or town. "Every school district of 5,000 population or more. "Not specified. "Americanization classes only. "Every child not attending some other school. Apprentices required to attend vocational school five hours per week for first two years of apprenticeship. ance officers to institute legal proceedings against delinquent parents after three days' notice of warning is given. It had been previously ten days' notice. It may be noted, that when I presented my report last year, nineteen states had adopted continuation or part-time school laws, and by January 1, 1920 twenty-five state required employed minors, generally from fourteen years of age as a minimum to sixteen or eighteen as a maximum (and in a few cases from sixteen to twenty-one years), during the full school year. A tabular statement, prepared by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, appearing in the Monthly Labor Review for April 1920, to show this more definitely, is herewith submitted. The rapidity with which the demand for vocational education for working children who have not completed an elementary education is spreading among the States may be attributed to two causes primarily,-first, the operation of the Smith-Hughes Act (Feb. 23, 1917) and, second, the fact that in a survey made by the Children's Bureau in 1918, it was found that 800,000 boys and 400,000 girls were employed, who had not completed the eighth grade. A number of States are requiring children to remain at school, in day school attendance (either part-time or whole-day), until sixteen years of age, unless they complete the eighth grade before attaining that age. As a result of the operation of part-time continuation classes, some employers of minors refuse to employ children under sixteen years of age, for the reason that attendance at part-time classes disarranges the time schedule or interrupts the processes of industry. Another factor tending to keep children at school until they are sixteen years of age is the operation of the Federal Child Labor Tax Law of 1918 (that became operative April 25, 1919), which imposes a tax on persons in charge of mines, workshops, and manufacturing establishments, amounting to 10% of their net profits for the year, if a child under fourteen years of age has been permitted to work by them, or if children between fourteen and sixteen years of age have been employed or permitted to work more than eight hours a day or more than six days in any week or before the hour of 6 a. m. The general application of this law is apparent from the following definition of the establishments subject to the excise tax:"Any room or place in which goods, or products are manufactured or repaired, cleaned, sorted, or altered, in whole or in part, for sale or wages, is a workshop, factory, or manufacturing establishment within the meaning of the Child Labor Tax Law." It should be noted also that an employment certificate is required for all children between fourteen and sixteen years of age who work in such establishments; and no exemption is permitted for the vacation period, and no distinction in the kind or class of employment in or about the establishments specified; thus, a factory office is considered a part of the establishment. There is another consideration incidental to the operation of the Federal Child Labor Tax Law that should be mentioned, namely, that if the State Law is at variance with the Federal Law, the Federal Law has been ruled to supersede the State Law. This matter has a practical bearing on the status of children under our State Law who may graduate before they become fourteen years of age and who would not be permitted under the Federal Law to work in the specified establishments, or likewise under our State Law regulating child labor, but for whom, at present, our Compulsory Education Law imposes no further obligation on the parents to cause the children to attend High School. This is a defect in the law and should be remedied by the Legislature. We have had many children graduate before they became fourteen years of age during the present and previous years, but the number will be constantly increasing in the future because of the admission of children to the Kindergarten at five years of age (first begun in 1913-14) and the opportunity of rapid promotions, as well as opportunities afforded for advancement in Summer School Classes. Inauguration of Continuation School Classes. At the time my report was written last year there was some uncertainty regarding the number of working children who would be affected by the part-time, compulsory continuation school law, as the Legislature apparently intended it to apply to children between sixteen and eighteen years of age, who had not completed the eighth grade, and through an ambiguous reading, to all children between fourteen and sixteen years of age, but, as there was no penalty provided for children or their parents when children over sixteen years of age failed to comply, the Attorney of the Board ruled the attendance of such children at continuation schools was optional with them; and, upon the question arising regarding children who were graduates of the elementary schools, the same ruling applied. We had, however, undertaken a survey of the children employed using the school census which had been prepared under the direction of the Secretary of the Board and had been completed in the spring of 1919, together with the data obtained for children between fourteen and eighteen years of age who had received employment certificates during the previous three years. The cards for the children in the latter group were checked against the larger group of cards in the general census, taking care to keep a division by sex and color, for those between sixteen and eighteen years of age, regarding whose attendance (obligatory) a doubt existed, and for those between fourteen and sixteen years of age an additional separation, by graduates, and for the same reason, was made. While this work was being prepared, blanks had been printed to be given the employers of children within those ages; which, when completed, were personally presented by some of the attendance officers to the superintendents of the establishments with an explanation of the law, and a request for their cooperation in its enforcement; and, at the same time, a printed circular regarding the types of studies to be purred in the courses to be established in the part-time continuation classes left with them. The lists when completed by the employers were mailed to the Attendance Division and conveyed the following information: the name of the company; address of firm; employment manager; names of children; address of each; school grade; dates of birth; number of hours preferred (whether four hours on one day; or two on each of two days; or one on each of four days); the day of the week preferred (or days); and whether they preferred the child to attend in the morning or afternoon; and what special subjects in relation to their industry or his special work they suggested. After the lists had been returned to the office, the names of the children listed, were checked against the cards of the children who had received employment certificates and a folder was made for each child for the permanent file, containing the essential information for follow-up work, giving name, date of birth, grade, place of employment, as well as the address of the child; and for children for whom no employment certificates had been issued, similar folders were made but kept separate to constitute cases to be followed up by the officers under the type of illegally employed children, who should be compelled to secure employment certificates or return to school. The lists of the names of the employers having children had been obtained from the Factory Inspector's Office. A map of the city, showing the distribution of the mercantile and industrial establishments, which had been made from the data taken similarly during the previous year, showing by pins with varicolored types of heads (each variety representing a different type of industry), was of especial use in the plans for the organization of the work. By reason of its present and permanent interest a photographic reproduction of it is presented. |