least 85 per cent of the amount received from the county and the irreducible school fund shall be applied on teachers' salaries. (See also Organization-District boards, regarding fuel, furniture, etc.)

Bonds. Upon petition of 10 voters of any school district the school board shall order an election, giving twenty days' notice, to determine whether a bonded debt shall be incurred. If a majority of the votes cast shall be favorable thereto, the board shall issue coupon bonds of the district, interest not to exceed legal rate, payable semiannually, such bonds redeemable at the pleasure of the district after ten years but due and payable twenty years from date. In no case shall the aggregate bonded debt exceed 5 per cent of the taxable values of the school district. The county treasurer shall sell such bonds at the best price obtainable, not less than par, and hold the proceeds subject to the order of the said district board. But before offering for sale notice of such issue shall be given the State land board (see Common school fund), who shall have the preferential right to purchase same, and any surplus of the irreducible school fund or any other fund held by said State land board shall be invested as far as possible in the bonds and warrants issued by the various school districts within the State.

The directors of such district must levy annually a tax sufficient to pay the interest accruing on said bonds as it becomes due, and after ten years shall also levy an amount not less than one-tenth of such unpaid bonds for a sinking fund to meet the payment of such bonds at maturity.

PENNSYLVANIA.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State superintendent and deputy-County superintendent-Directors and controllers-Local superintendents.

State superintendent.-A superintendent of public instruction shall be appointed by the governor every fourth year, by and with the advice and consent of two-thirds of all the senate, and shall be removed by the governor for misbehavior. He shall decide without appeal or costs all controversies or disputes that may arise or exist among the directors or controllers of any district, or between collectors or treasurers; give advice, explanations, construction, or information to the district officers and citizens relative to the common school law, the duties of common school officers, the rights and duties of parents, guardians, and pupils, and the management of the schools, and all other questions calculated to promote the cause of education; sign orders on the State treasurer for payment of State money to the school districts; prepare blank forms for the annual district reports, with suitable instructions, and forward them; prepare an annual report containing a full account of the condition of the public schools, the expenditures for them, estimates for the year ensuing, the number of pupils, the cost of teaching each, the number of districts, plans for the improvement of the system, and all such matters relating to the common schools and to the duties of his office as he may deem expedient to communicate; provide a seal for the authentication of official documents. He shall appoint one of his clerks general deputy, who may perform all his duties in his absence, and remove any county superintendent for neglect of duty.

County superintendents.-The school directors of the several districts in each county shall meet in convention at the county seat every three years and select one person of literary and scientific attainments (college diploma, State or local certificate), and of three years' experience in the art of teaching, and of good moral character, as county superintendent for three succeeding school years. His salary shall be $10 for each of the first 100 schools within his jurisdiction, $5 for each school above 100 and not over 200, and $2 each for each school above 200, but in no case to be less than $1,000 nor more than $2,000. School directors may increase the county superintendent's salary from the school fund of the county, and in counties having over 290 schools or 1,200 square miles of territory or a school term exceeding seven and one-half months the salary paid shall not be less than $1,500. The county superintendent may not teach in the public schools unless he does so without compensation. He shall take oath to perform his duties to the best of his ability; visit as often as practicable the several schools of his county, noting the character of instruction and the

methods, and giving directions upon these subjects in order to bring the teaching up to the grade intended and the grades into ordination and the schools into uniformity; see that the branches required by law are taught by legally competent teachers, examine all candidates for teaching, grant certificates to qualified persons and revoke the same for cause; annually report to the State superintendent in extenso upon the educational condition of his county, forward the reports of the several school districts thereof, and hold teachers' institutes annually.

Directors and controllers.--Every township, borough, and city of this Commonwealth, or which shall hereafter be erected, shall be a school district. School districts which are composed of cities and boroughs divided into wards for school purposes shall be constituted as follows: Each ward shall retain its school property and elect a separate board of directors, who shall have the erection and repair of schoolhouses, the purchase of sites, and the levying, assessing, collecting, and disbursing of all taxes laid for the above purposes; but other powers and duties which are exercised by district school directors shall be in the hands of a board of controllers, composed of the directors of the several wards; provided that whenever the ward boards of directors shall voluntarily grant the property of their wards to the board of controllers the city or borough shall constitute a single school district, but the number of directors shall thereafter be three for each ward.

School directors shall be elected annually in other districts as follows: At the same time and place that elections are held for supervisors in wards, cities, or boroughs, two qualified citizens shall be elected school directors in each district, whose term of office shall be three years, vacancies to be filled by the board. No school director may be also a constable, pathmaster, commissioner of roads, or auditor. Failure on the part of a member to attend two consecutive meetings and the failure of all the members of the board of directors or controllers to levy a tax to keep the schools in operation or to provide schoolhouses, vacates the delinquent member's seat in the first case, and vacates the seats of every member in the second. The board elects a president, secretary, and treasurer, and holds a meeting at least once in every three months.

Directors of a township, or of two or more townships jointly, may establish high schools, which, maintaining the course prescribed by the State superintendent, shall be entitled to an appropriation from the State of $400 for a twoyears' course beyond the common branches, $600 for a three-years' course, and $800 for a four-years' course,

The district board of directors and the municipal board of controllers have the following duties and powers: To establish a sufficient number of schools, employ teachers, direct what branches shall be taught and books used, expel all incorrigible children, purchase and issue text-books, and other necessary supplies, and report the amount expended for such supplies, grade the schools, pay expenses of the schools by drafts on the district treasurer, and report and publish annually a statement of the financial operations of the district in not less than ten written or printed handbills posted in the most public places of the district, and also to make a statement to the auditor.

The board of controllers of school districts which are composed of cities or boroughs divided into wards for school purposes, or boroughs not so divided, but having a population of 5,000 or more, shall possess the following additional powers and have the following duties: They may establish high schools, and shall admit to them all under 21 years of age properly prepared to enter upon the course of study, and, in general, shall exercise supervision over them, appointing the teachers and establishing the course of study, purchasing land and erecting buildings, and maintaining them for not less than ten months in the year.

Cities of under 100,000 inhabitants are constituted one school district, each ward to elect two members of the board of controllers for four-year terms, one going out biennially.

The county superintendent shall annually call all the directors together, at some time when the county teachers' institute is not in session, for the consideration of questions pertaining to school administration. Each director attending receives 3 cents per mile for traveling expenses, and to defray the expenses of the convention the county pays a dollar for each director in attendance, the maximum amount being $100.

City, borough, and township superintendents.-School directors in any city, borough or township having a population of over 5,000 may elect one person of literary and scientific acquirements, and skill and experience in the art of teaching, as city or borough superintendent for the three succeeding school

years; and they shall determine his compensation. After the certification of the election of the superintendent to the State superintendent, the schools of the city, borough, or township shall not be subject to the authority of the county superintendent. The municipal superintendent is to perform the duties of the county superintendent and such as may be imposed by his board of directors, report monthly to the State superintendent, and attend meetings of superintendents called by him.

2. TEACHERS.

Appointment, qualifications, and duties--Preliminary training-Meetings.

Appointment, qualifications, and duties.—No district employing a teacher who has not a valid certificate from the county or local superintendent shall receive money from the State treasury. No teacher shall be employed in teaching any branch of learning other than those enumerated in his or her certificate. No teacher shall be employed or dismissed except by a majority vote of the whole number of the directors or controllers of any common-school district. No person shall receive a certificate from a county, city, borough, or township superintendent who has not a fair knowledge of orthography, reading, writing, geography, English grammar, mental and written arithmetic, history of the United States, the theory of teaching, physiology and hygiene, civil government and elementary algebra. No person using intoxicating drinks as a beverage shall be granted a certificate. The certificate shall state the proficiency of the holder in each branch. The teacher must report monthly to the local school board the number and sex of pupils in attendance, the books used, and branches taught, or forfeit pay. After June 1, 1904, the minimum salary of teachers shall be $35 a month. Any district failing to comply with this provision shall forfeit its State appropriation during the whole time it is violated.

Preliminary training.-The State is divided at present into 13 normal school districts. When 13 or more citizens shall, as contributors or stockholders, erect and establish a school for the professional training of young men and women as teachers for the public schools of the State, all students in that school over 17 years of age who sign an agreement to teach two years in the public schools of the State after graduation receive $1.50 per week, which pays their tuition in full. The affairs of each school are to be managed by a board of 18 trustees, 12 elected by the contributors and 6 appointed by the State superintendent, and it shall require a three-fourths vote to pass a motion for the sale or purchase of real estate. The governor, superintendent, and attorneygeneral are a commision to distribute the State money to the schools. The trustees report annually to the superintendent, and are always subject to his inspection. To obtain State aid the following requirements must be met: Suitable building, surrounded by an area of 10 acres; a hall to seat 1,000 persons, with class rooms, etc., to accommodate 300 or more students, properly supplied with heating apparatus, adequately lighted and ventilated, and provided with a place for physical exercise in inclement weather, a library, 6 professors or more, one each in orthography, in reading and elocution, in writing, drawing and bookkeeping, in arithmetic and higher mathematics, in geography and history, in grammar and English history, and in theory and practice of teaching, together with such professors of natural, mental, and moral sciences, languages, and literature as the condition of the school and the number of students may require. The principal shall be a professor of one of the required branches. There shall be a model school of not less than 100 children. The principals shall fix the requisites for admission and the course and duration of study. The examination of the graduating class shall be conducted by a board composed of two principals, one of whom shall be the principal of the school whose pupils are under examination, the State superintendent or his deputy and two county or local superintendents of the normal school district being present, and no person shall graduate unless by a vote of 4 out of the said 5 members. Graduates are given a certificate of their scholastic qualifications valid throughout the State, but after two years of teaching a certificate of competency in teaching (teachers' State certificate) shall be given. Actual teachers in good standing, having taught three full annual terms, may also take the examination. Institutes.-Annually the county superintendent shall hold an institute, at which all the teachers of the county are required to be present, without loss of pay. The duration of the institute is five days, one-half day being allowed to come from and another to return home. The county superintendent shall draw from the county treasury for every three days' attendance of a teacher the sum

of $1 to defray the expenses of lecturers and instructors. It shall be lawful, however, for the board of directors or controllers which has elected a superintendent and employs not less than 75 teachers to hold a separate annual teachers' institute and to draw upon the county treasury in the manner laid down for the county superintendent.

3. SCHOOLS.

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

Attendance. The board of directors or controllers shall provide a sufficient number of schools for the education of every individual above 6 and under 21 years of age for four to ten months, without regard to race or color.

All children between 8 and 13 years of age must attend school continuously during the term, unless the board at its meeting in June shall reduce the period of compulsory attendance, but the period shall not be reduced to less than 70 per cent of the term. Pupils may be excused on account of mental or physical ailments, or if there is no schoolhouse within 2 miles of their residence, or on presentation of a certificate that they are being taught in a proper private school. For neglect of anyone in parental relation to send a child to school, or of the principal or teacher to report the nonattendance of pupils, the penalty for the first offense is $2, each subsequent offense $5. Boards of directors or school controllers in cities shall, and in all other districts may, appoint a truant officer, with police power, to be paid out of the school fund, to enforce the compulsory-attendance law. Boards of directors may establish special schools for habitual truants or those who are insubordinate or disorderly while in attendance upon the public schools.

No child under 13 years of age shall be employed in any manufacturing or mercantile industry; nor anyone under 16 who can not read and write English, unless he presents a certificate of having attended during the preceding year an evening or day school for a period of sixteen weeks, such cotificate to be signed by the teacher of the school so attended.

Character of instruction.-It shall be the duty of each county superintendent to see that there be taught orthography, reading, writing, English grammar, geography, arithmetic, and physiology in reference to stimulants, as well as such other branches as the board of directors or controllers may require, all to be taught by qualified teachers. Failure of a local board in these respects works forfeiture of State money. District boards have power to grade schools, and boards in cities and boroughs having a population of 5,000 or more may establish a high school, fix its course of study, appoint its teachers, and maintain it for ten months in the year.

Upon the application of the parents of 20 or more children above 6 years of age, the school board shall open an evening school, giving instruction in reading, writing, arithmetic, and such other studies as may be prescribed by the board. The term of such school is to be not less than four months of 20 evenings of two hours each, but if the average attendance falls below 15 the school may be closed. In certain cities central boards of education are provided, to establish and maintain schools for instruction in the mechanic arts and kindred subjects; instruction in such schools may be given in the day or evening, and may include chemistry, mathematics, natural philosophy, and other branches pertaining to the mechanic arts.

Text-books. No series of text-books shall be adopted in any school district unless by vote of a majority of the whole number of the directors or controllers, and their votes shall be recorded by name; nor shall any text-books be changed until three years after their adoption. The board shall purchase text-books and other necessary supplies for the schools as the occasion demands, and such books and supplies shall be furnished free of cost to the pupils, subject to regulations.

Buildings. Suitable buildings and outhouses must be supplied by the board of directors for all children of school age.

4. FINANCES.

Funds (permanent and special)—Taxation.

Funds (permanent and special).-Any person found intoxicated in a public thoroughfare or place shall be fined $2, to be paid to the school district. This fund is distributed to the districts on the basis of resident taxables.

Taration.-There are three kinds of tax for school purposes according to their subjects, each separate and distinct, but all may be due from one person. They are: The rate tax on real and personal property; a minimum occupation tax of $1 on all resident males' taxables over 21 years of age; the districts may tax themselves for support of schools in general, up to 13 mills, and may raise a sum for establishing schoolhouses not greater than the sum raised for support of schools in the sarie year.

RHODE ISLAND.

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State board-Commissioner of public schools-Town school committee-Town superintendent-District trustees—Truant officers.

State board. The general supervision and control of the public schools of the State and the enforcement of all rules and regulations necessary for carrying into effect the laws in relation thereto, with such high schools, normal schools, and normal institutes as are or may be established and maintained wholly or in part by the State, shall be vested in a State board of education, which shall consist of the governor and lieutenant-governor ex officio, and of six other members, one from each of the counties of the State with the exception of Providence County, which shall have two members. Two members of the board shall be elected annually at the January session of the general assembly from each county the term of whose member has expired, who shall hold office three years. Vacancies are filled in the same manner. The governor shall be president and the commissioner of public schools secretary of the board, which shall hold quarterly meetings, but special meetings may be convoked by its president or secretary. The board may grant for the purchase of books in any free public library the sum of $50 for the first 500 volumes it obtains, and $25 for every additional500 volumes therein, provided that the annual payment shall not exceed the sum of $500. It shall prescribe the character of books which constitute such library and regulate its management so as to secure the free use of the same to the people of the town and neighborhood.

The board shall hold or cause to be held, in such places in different parts of the State and at such times as they may determine, examinations for the position of teacher in the public schools of this State; and said board is hereby authorized to issue certificates of qualification which shall be valid throughout the State for the grade and time specified therein.

The board shall make an annual report to the general assembly. The members shall receive no compensation, but the expenses necessitated by the performance of their duties shall be paid after approval by the general assembly. Commissioner of public schools.-The State board shall annually elect a commissioner of public schools, who shall devote his time exclusively to the duties of his office, and while unable to perform them, the governor shall appoint a person to act as commissioner during the continuance of the disability. He may appoint a clerk to assist in the duties of his office.

He shall visit, as often as practicable, every school district in the State for the purpose of inspecting schools and of diffusing as widely as possible by public addresses and personal communication to school officers, teachers, and parents a knowledge of the defects and of any advisable improvements in the administration of the system and the government and instruction of the schools. He shall endeavor to secure uniformity in text-books and promote the establishment of school libraries, and shall report annually to the board of education upon the condition of education in the State schools, with suggestions for their improvement.

Town school committee. The school committee of each town shall consist of three residents of the town, or of the same number as constituted the committee in 1896, divided as nearly as may be into three groups, one group retiring from office annually. In a town abolishing all the school districts within its limits, the town school committee may, by vote of the town, be increased to seven persons. Vacancies are filled by the town council until the next annual election. The school committee shall meet at least four times in every year.

The committee may alter and discontinue districts, shall locate all school