Constitution and Amendment of the State of Missouri

IN REGARD TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

ARTICLE IX.

EDUCATION.

SECTION 1. A general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people, the General Assembly shall establish and maintain free schools for the gratuitous instruction of all persons in this State between the ages of five and twenty-one years.

SEC. 2. Separate schools may be established for children of African descent. All funds provided for the support of public schools shall be appropriated in proportion to the number of children, without regard to color.

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SEC. 3. The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a Board of Education," whose powers and duties shall be prescribed by law. A Superintendent of Public Schools, who shall be the President of the Board, shall be elected by the qualified voters of the State. He shall possess the qualifications of a State Senator, and hold his office for the term of four years, and shall perform such duties, and receive such compensation, as may be prescribed by law. The Secretary of State and Attorney-General shall be ex officio members, and, with the Superintendent compose said Board of Education.

SEC. 4. The General Assembly shall also establish and maintain a State University, with departments for instruction in teaching, in agriculture, and in natural science, as soon as the public school fund will permit.

SEC. 5. The proceeds of all lands that have been or hereafter may be granted by the United States to this State, and not otherwise appropriated by this State or the United States; also, all

moneys, stocks, bonds, lands, and other property now belonging to any fund for purposes of education; also, the net proceeds of all sales of lands and other property and effects that may accrue to the State by escheat, or from sales of estrays, or from unclaimed dividends, or distributive shares of the estates of deceased persons, or from fines, penalties and forfeitures; also, any proceeds of the sales of the public lands which may have been or hereafter may be paid over to this State (if Congress will consent to such appropriation); also, all other grants, gifts or devises that have been or hereafter may be made to this State, and not · otherwise appropriated by the terms of the grant, gift or devise, shall be securely invested and sacredly preserved as a public school fund; the annual income of which fund, together with so much of the ordinary revenue of the State as may be necessary, shall be faithfully appropriated for establishing and maintaining the free schools and the university in this article provided for, and for no other uses or purposes whatsoever.

SEC. 6. No part of the public school fund shall ever be invested in the stock, or bonds, or other obligations of any State, or of any county, city, town or corporation. The stock of the Bank of the State of Missouri now held for school purposes, and all other stocks belonging to any school or university fund, shall be sold, in such manner and at such time as the General Assembly may prescribe; and the proceeds thereof, and the proceeds of the sales of any lands or other property which now belong or may hereafter belong to said school fund, may be invested in the bonds of the United States. All county school funds shall be loaned upon good and sufficient unencumbered real estate security, with personal security in addition thereon.

SEC. 7. No township or school district shall receive any portion of the public school fund, unless a free school shall have been kept therein for not less than three months during the year for which distribution thereof is made. The General Assembly shall have power to require, by law, that every child of sufficient mental and physical ability shall attend the public schools, during the period between the ages of five and eighteen years, for a term equivalent to sixteen months, unless educated by other means.

SEC. 8. In case the public school fund shall be insufficient to

sustain a free school at least four months in every year in each school district in this State, the General Assembly may provide, by law, for the raising of such deficiency, by levying a tax on all the taxable property in each county, township, or school district, as they may deem proper.

SEC. 9. The General Assembly shall, as far as it can be done without infringing upon vested rights, reduce all lands, moneys, and other property used or held for school purposes, in the various counties of this State, into the public school fund herein provided for, and, in making distribution of the annual income of said fund, shall take into consideration the amount of any county or city funds appropriated for common school purposes, and make such distribution as will equalize the amount appropriated for common schools throughout the State.

AMENDMENT.

Article IX of the Constitution of the State of Missouri is hereby amended by adding a new section thereto, to be numbered and known as section 10, and to read as follows:

SECTION 10. Neither the General Assembly nor any county, city, town, township, school district or other municipal corporation, shall ever make any appropriation, or pay from any public fund whatever, anything in aid of any creed, church, or sectarian purpose, or to help support or sustain any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or other institution of learning controlled by any creed, church or sectarian denomination whatever; nor shall any grant or donation of personal property or real estate ever be made by [any] State, county, city, town, or such public corporation, for any creed, church or sectarian purpose whatever.

RULES

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BOARD OF PRESIDENT AND DIRECTORS OF THE

ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

SESSIONS OF THE BOARD AND RULES OF ORDER.

RULE 1. The stated sessions of the Board shall be held at the office of the Corporation, on the second Tuesday in each and every month, commencing at eight o'clock P.M., from the first of April till the first of October, and at seven and a half o'clock P.M. for the remainder of the year.

RULE 2. The President, or any three members of the Board, may call special sessions by giving three days' notice in writing to the other members of the Board, and stating the object of said call; but no business other than the special business for which it has been called shall be transacted at such session.

RULE 3. At all sessions of the Board a majority of the whole number elected shall constitute a quorum to do business, but any smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members. (See Charter, Sec. 6.)

RULE 4. The President, upon taking the chair, shall call the members to order, on the appearance of a quorum. The order of business of every session, except when otherwise specially directed, shall be as follows:

1. Reading of record of last session.

2. Reading of letters and communications.

3. Reports from Secretary, Treasurer, Attorney, Superintendent, and Bailiff.

RULE. 5. All special committees shall be called upon for report by the President whenever their report is due, and any special committee failing to report at such time, or in the next two sessions following thereafter, shall be considered discharged, unless extension of time is granted.

RULE 6. No person, other than a member or officer of the Board shall, unless by permission, be allowed to make any communication to the Board, except in writing, and such permission must be unanimous.

RULE 7. No motion shall be subject to debate until it has been seconded and stated by the Chair. It shall be reduced to writing at the request of any member of the Board.

RULE 8. When a question is before the Board, no motion shall be received, except to adjourn, to lay on the table, to close the debate, to refer, to postpone indefinitely, to postpone to a certain time, or to amend; and the motions shall take precedence in the order above named; the first, second and third shall be decided without debate, and the second and third by a two-thirds vote. Any member may call for a division of the question, when the same admits of it.

RULE 9. When the Board has decided to close the debate, the vote shall be taken first on the amendments that may be pending, and next also on the main question.

RULE 10. The President shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Board by any member. In case of appeal, the question shall be: Shall the decision of the Chair be sustained? and, until it is decided, all debate upon the pending question shall be suspended.

RULE 11. The reconsideration of a vote may be moved at the same session at which the vote was taken by any member who voted with the majority, but such motion shall be decided at that or the next regular session, and a matter once finally