3. SCHOOLS.

Attendance-Character of instruction-Text-books-Buildings.

Attendance.--Every parent, guardian, or other person in the State having control of any child between 7 and 14 years of age shall send such child to a public, private, or parochial school each year for a term not less than that of the public schools of the school corporation where the child resides: Provided, That no child in good mental and physical condition shall for any cause, any rule or law to the contrary, be precluded from attending school when such school is in session.

The county board of education shall appoint one truant officer in each county. When, from personal knowledge or by report or complaint from any resident or teacher, a truant officer believes that any child subject to these provisions is habitually tardy or absent from school, he shall give notice to the parent or guardian that the attendance of such child at school is required; and if within five days such parent or guardian does not comply therewith, then the truant officer shall make complaint against such parent or guardian for violation of the compulsory attendance law, the penalty for which is a fine not to exceed $25, to which may be added imprisonment from two to ninety days. Only one notice shall be required for any child in any year.

A city having a school enumeration of 5,000 or more children, or two or more eities and towns in any county having a combined school enumeration of 5,000, may, in the discretion of the county board, constitute a separate district for the administration of this law.

Cities containing 10,000 school children or less shall have but one truant officer; from 10,000 to 20,000 school children, two truant officers; 20,000 to 30,000, three; 30,000 to 40,000, four; more than 40,000, five. City truant officers shall be appointed by the board of school trustees or commissioners, as the case may be.

Truant officers shall receive from the county treasury $2 for each day of actual service.

Character of instruction.-All schools in a township shall be taught an equal length of time as nearly as the same can be done. The school meeting determines the length of time schools are to be taught. The common schools of the State shall be taught in the English language, and there shall be taught in them orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology, history of the United States, and good behavior, and such other branches and languages as the advancement of the pupils and the county board may require. The trustees may establish graded schools or such modifications of them as they may deem practicable. The board of any incorporated town or city is empowered to establish kindergartens for children 4 to 6 years of age, cost to be defrayed from local funds. All cities having a population of 3,000 or more shall maintain a night school from 7 to 9 p. m. during the regular school term, open to pupils from 14 to 30 years of age employed in business during the day. In cities of 100,000 population manual training schools may be established. Text-books.-The State board of education shall constitute a board of commissioners for the purpose of making a selection or the compilation for use in the common schools of a series of text-books on the following branches: Spelling, reading, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology, history of the United States, and a graded series of writing books, no book to contain anything of a sectarian character. As soon as the board shall have entered into contract for the furnishing of the books the governor shall announce the fact, and the school trustees of every school corporation within thirty days shall certify to the county superintendent the number required by the schools under their care. The county superintendent makes requisition upon the State superintendent and the latter upon the contractor, who shall, within ninety days, ship the books to the county superintendent, from whom the school trustees shall immediately procure and furnish them to the patrons at the price fixed. It shall be the duty of each township trustee and each school board to furnish the necessary school books to all such indigent children as may desire to attend the schools.

Buildings. The voters shall annually elect one of their number director, who shall serve without pay. He shall have charge of the school property, under the general concurrence of the trustees (see Organization-Trustees), and shall make all temporary repairs and provide the necessary fuel, and may expel pupils for

cause.

When a schoolhouse is unoccupied by a common school of the State and the

people who form the school at such house desire that a private school be taught therein, and a majority of them make application to the trustee having charge of such house for the use of it for a private school, the use shall be granted, provided the house be vacated when desired for a public school and the private school teacher report the number of teachers, of pupils, the average attendance, and the average cost of tuition for each pupil. When a majority of the legal voters of any school district desire the use of the schoolhouse the trustee having charge of the same shall authorize the director to permit such use.

4. FINANCES.

Funds (permanent or special)—Taxation.

Funds (permanent or special).—The common school fund shall consist of the surplus revenue fund, the saline fund and the lands belonging thereto, the bank-tax fund, and the fund arising from section 114 of the charter of the State bank of Indiana, the fund arising from fines assessed for breaches of the penal laws of the State and from all forfeitures which may accrue, all lands and other estate which shall escheat to the State for want of heirs, all lands granted to the State without designation of a purpose, the proceeds of the sales of swamp lands granted to the State, and taxes on the property of corporations that may be assessed by the general assembly for common school purposes. The Congressional township school fund shall consist of the fund derived from the sale of Congressional township school lands and the unsold lands belonging thereto. These funds shall never be decreased, but the income shall always be invariably appropriated to the support of common schools.

Taxation. There shall be assessed annually 11 cents on each $100 on taxable property, real and personal, in the State, irrespective of color, and 50 cents on each taxable poll, for the purpose of supporting a general system of common schools.

The trustees of the several townships, towns, and cities shall have power to levy a special tax for the construction, renting, or repairing of schoolhouses, for providing furniture, school apparatus, and fuel, and for the payment of other necessary expenses of the school except tuition; but no tax [for such purpose] shall exceed the sum of 50 cents on each $100 worth of property and $1 on each poll in any one year, and the amount derived from the tax shall be denominated the special school revenue. The trustees of the several townships, towns, and cities shall have power annually to levy a tax not exceeding 50 cents on each $100 of taxable property and 25 cents on each taxable poll, which shall constitute a supplementary tuition fund, to extend the terms of school after the tuition funds apportioned by the State to such localities shall have been exhausted. They may also lay a special tax to pay debts, but not to exceed 25 cents on each $100 in any one year.

IOWA.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State superintendent-State board of craminers-County superintendent— County board-School corporations—Subdistrict director—Truant officers. State superintendent.-A State superintendent of public instruction shall be chosen at the general election in each odd-numbered year. He shall have the general supervision of all the county superintendents and of all the common schools of the State, may meet county superintendents in convention at such points in the State as he may deem most suitable, and by explanation and discussion secure a uniform and efficient administration of the school laws. He shall attend teachers' institutes in the several counties as far as possible, and assist, by lectures or otherwise, in their instruction and management. He shall have power to publish and distribute courses of study for use in the rural and high schools of the State; questions for the use of county superintendents in the examination of teachers for certificates; leaflets relating to Arbor Day, Memorial Day, and such other days considered by him worthy of special observance, and statistical and other information concerning the public schools and education in general. He shall render a written opinion to any school officer

asking it touching the exposition or administration of the school law, and determine all cases appealed from the decision of county superintendents. He shall have an office at the seat of government, in which he shall file all papers, reports, and public documents transmitted to him by the county superintendents each year separately, and shall exhibit them when required by the governor or the legislature, and shall keep a fair record of all matters pertaining to his office. Every four years he may cause the school laws to be printed, with such notes, rulings, forms, and decisions as may seem of value to aid school officers in the proper discharge of their duties, appropriate reference being made to previous laws amended or changed so as clearly to indicate the effect of amendments or changes. He shall send to each county superintendent a number of copies bound in cloth sufficient to supply each school corporation in his county, and a sufficient number bound in paper to furnish to the members of the boards of directors one copy, which shall be turned over by each to his successor in office. He may subscribe for a sufficient number of copies of an educational journal, as he may elect, if published in the State, to furnish one copy to each county superintendent, provided the journal selected shall contain his decisions concerning the school law. He shall, on the 1st day of January of each year, report to the auditor of the State the number of persons in each county between the ages of 5 and 21, and shall biennially make to the governor a report embracing a statement of the condition of the common schools of the State, the number of school townships and districts therein, the number of teachers, of schools, of schoolhouses and their value, of persons 5 to 21 years of age, the number of scholars in each county that have attended school the previous year as returned by the county superintendent, the number of books in the district libraries, the value of all apparatus in the schools, and such other statistical information as he may deem important, and such plans as he may have matured for the more perfect organization and efficiency of common schools. Four thousand five hundred copies of this report shall be issued. He shall appoint the time and place for holding teachers' institutes, and shall be president of the board of trustees of the State normal school and of the State board of examiners, a member of the board of regents of the State university, and of the board of trustees of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts.

State board of examiners.-The superintendent of public instruction, the president of the State university, the principal of the State normal school, and two persons appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be a woman, for a term of four years, shall form a State board of examiners. No member appointed by the governor shall succeed himself. The board shall meet at such times and places as its president shall direct, and shall annually hold at least two public examinations of teachers, at each of which one member of the board or its secretary shall preside, assisted by one or two teachers, as the board shall determine. The board may adopt rules not inconsistent with law, and shall keep a full record of their proceedings and a record of all persons to whom certificates and diplomas are issued. Each member of the board shall receive pay for his expenses, and those appointed $3 per diem for time actually engaged.

County superintendent.—In every odd-numbered year there shall be elected a county superintendent. No person shall be deemed ineligible by reason of sex to this or any other school office in the State of Iowa, but the county superintendent shall not be a school director or a member of the board of supervisors during the time of his incumbency.

On the last Friday and Saturday of each month the county superintendent shall meet all persons desirous of passing an examination, and for the transaction of other business within his jurisdiction, in some suitable room provided for that purpose by the board of supervisors at the county seat, at which time he shall examine all applicants for teachers' positions, and shall give certificates to those found competent. He shall hold annually a normal institute for the instruction of teachers and those desiring to teach, and may revoke a county certificate for cause after defense. All disbursements of the institute fund shall be upon the order of the county superintendent. He shall annually make a report to the State superintendent containing an abstract of the reports made to him by the district secretaries and such other matters as he or the State superintendent may deem important, and he (the county superintendent) shall also report to the county auditor the number of persons between 5 and 21 years of age in each school district of his county, upon failure to make either of which reports he shall forfeit $50 and be liable for any damage caused by such neglect. He shall also report the number of blind, deaf and dumb, and feeble-minded to the superintendents of the respective institutions for such persons. He shall

serve as the medium of communication between the State superintendent and the officers of school corporations, and may at his own discretion visit the several schools in his county and, at the request of a majority of the directors of a district, shall visit the school in said district at least once each term.

The compensation of the county superintendent shall be $1,250 per annum, with such additional compensation as the board of supervisors may deem just and proper, besides necessary stationery and postage for use of his office. If necessary, he may appoint a deputy, who may perform all his official duties except visiting schools and trying appeals.

County board of education.-(See Schools-Text-books.)

School corporations.-School corporations shall be known as school townships (city, town, or village independent districts) and rural independent districts. The board of a school township is composed of one director from each subdistrict, chosen for a term of one year; that of a city, town, or village district, five to seven members, for three years; that of a rural independent district, three members, for three years. Vacancies may be filled by the board.

The board shall hold two regular meetings annually, and special meetings on call of the president; shall make all contracts, purchases, payments, and sales necessary to carry out any vote of the corporation, but before constructing any schoolhouse shall consult the county superintendent as to the most approved plan for such building; shall fix the site for each schoolhouse, taking into consideration the geographical position and convenience of each portion of the district; determine what number of schools shall be taught beyond the time required by law, and for what period; determine where pupils may attend school, and for this purpose may divide the district into wards or other divisions, such as they may deem necessary. They shall have power to rent a room and employ a teacher for any 10 pupils; and under certain conditions they may transport pupils to school in another corporation, paying cost of tuition from the teachers' fund and transportation from the contingent fund. They may establish graded or union or high schools wherever necessary and may select a person who shall have general supervision of all schools in the district, subject to the rules and regulations of the board. The board of an independent district may establish kindergarten departments, to be paid for in the same manner as other departments. The board is authorized to adopt text-books, contract for and buy said books and other supplies, and sell same to pupils at cost. They shall cause twelve or more shade trees to be planted on each schoolhouse site not having that number already upon it, the expense to come out of the contingent fund, and may use unappropriated money from that fund to insure school property. Subdirectors. Subject to the county board of education, the subdirector shall negotiate in his district all necessary contracts for fuel, repairing and furnishing schoolhouses, and shail make all other provisions necessary for the convenience and prosperity of the schools within his subdistrict. He shall have control of the schoolhouse, unless otherwise ordered by a vote of the school township meeting. But all contracts shall be approved and signed by the president of and reported to the board, which shall be responsible. The subdirector shall prepare a list of names of the heads of families within his subdistrict, together with the number of children (by sex) from 5 to 21 years of age, which latter shall be reported to the secretary of the township board. He shall also report to said secretary the names of all children 7 to 14 years of age, and the reasons why any of such may not attend school for twelve consecutive school weeks. (See also Schools-Attendance.) Truant officers.-(See Schools-Attendance.)

2. TEACHERS.

Contracts-Certificates-School registers-Preliminary training-Institutes. Contracts. No person shall be employed to teach a common school supported by the public funds unless he have a certificate of qualification signed by the county superintendent or other authorized person, and anyone teaching without such a certificate shall have no valid claim to compensation for such service. All contracts with teachers shall be in writing, specifying the number of weeks the school is to be taught, compensation, and such other matters as may be agreed upon, shall be signed by the president of the board of directors and the teacher, and be filed with the secretary of the board before the teacher begins to teach. A teacher may be discharged by a majority vote of the board for in

competency, inattention to duty, partiality, or other good cause, after an opportunity for defense.

Certificates.-Candidates for State certificates shall be examined in orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, bookkeeping, physiology, history of the United States, algebra, botany, natural philosophy, drawing, civil government, constitution and laws of Iowa, vocal music, and didactics; and candidates for State diplomas shall, in addition thereto, pass in geometry, trigonometry, chemistry, zoology, geology, astronomy, political economy, rhetoric, English literature, general history, and such other branches as the board of examiners may require. A State certificate shall authorize a person to teach in any public school in the State for five years, and a State diploma, for life; but both are revocable by the board of examiners for cause, after the holder has had an opportunity to make defense. The examination fee for a State certificate is $3 and for a State diploma $5, one-half of which shall be returned should the applicant fail to pass.

On the last Friday and Saturday in each month the county superintendent shall examine applicants for county certificates in the following-named subjects: Orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology, didactics, vocal music, and history of the United States. If the examination is satisfactory, and the superintendent is satisfied that the applicant possesses a good moral character and the essential qualifications for governing and instructing youth, he shall give him a certificate to that effect for not longer than one year. If an applicant desires a certificate for two years, he shall also pass examination in elementary civics, algebra, physics, and economics, and present proof of thirty-six weeks' successful experience in teaching. Persons desiring to teach only music, drawing, penmanship, bookkeeping, German, or other language shall not be required to stand examination on other than their specialty, nor shall they be permitted to teach branches upon which they have not been examined. Any school officer or other person may be present at the examination, and the superintendent shall make a record of the name, residence, and age of all persons examined, showing who pass and who fail. County certificates are revocable for cause after an opportunity for defense.

School registers.-The teacher shall keep a correct daily register of the school, showing the name, age, and attendance of each pupil and the branches studied. When pupils reside in different districts a register shall be kept for each district. The teacher shall, after the close of the school, immediately file in the office of the secretary of the board a certified copy of the register.

Preliminary training.--A school for the special instruction and training of teachers for the common schools of this State is established at Cedar Falls, under the management and control of a board of six trustees, no two of whom shall be from the same county, with the State superintendent as ex officio president of the board. The six members are elected by the legislature for terms of six years, two to retire biennially; vacancies filled by the governor. No trustee shall be a teacher in the school. They shall receive $4 per diem for time employed and actual expenses. They shall employ competent teachers, control all State property for use of the school, direct expenditures, and make rules and regulations for the government of and admission to the school. Pupils shall be required to sign a declaration of their intention to follow the business of teaching in the schools of the State. The board shall make all possible and necessary arrangements with means at their disposal for boarding and lodging pupils, but pupils shall pay cost of the same and a contingent fee not to exceed $1 a month and may be charged $6 a term for tuition, if the same be necessary, to support the school. The board shall make a detailed report to the governor biennially, showing the number of teachers employed, their compensation, number of pupils classified, an itemized statement of receipts and expenditures, and such other information as they may deem expedient, with recommendations. The State board of educational examiners shall constitute a board for the examination, recognition, and supervision of other schools designed for the instruction and training of teachers. All such schools that shall meet the requirements of this board shall be known as accredited schools, the graduates of which who shall pass an examination in the branches required for a two years' county certificate shall receive from the State board a certificate valid for two years, which may be renewed under such rules as the board may prescribe.

Institutes. Whenever reasonable assurance shall be given by the county superintendent to the State superintendent that not less than 20 teachers desire to assemble for the purpose of holding a teachers' institute, to remain in session