normal certificates, which shall be State certificates good for four or six years, according to whether the general average be 75 or 85. The county superintendent shall, with such assistance as may be necessary, organize and hold at least three institutes of two days each during the year, and failure to conform to this will be cause for his removal. It is the duty of all teachers in the public schools in the State to attend the summer normals and county institutes as far as possible.

3. SCHOOLS.

Attendance-Character of instruction-Buildings.

Attendance. The children of the white and colored races shall be taught in separate schools, and in no case shall any school consisting partly of white and partly of colored or mixed blood receive any aid from the public school fund. All children over 7 years of age and under 17 at the beginning of any scholastic year shall be entitled to the benefit of the public free schools.

Character of instruction.-There shall be taught in the public schools orthography, reading in English, penmanship, arithmetic, English grammar, modern geography, composition, physiology and hygiene, including the effects of aleoholie stimulants and narcotics on the human system, mental arithmetic, Texas history, United States history, civil government, and other branches, as may be agreed upon by the trustees or directed by the State superintendent. Suitable instruction shall be given the primary grades once each week regarding kindness to animals and the protection of birds and their nests and eggs.

Buildings. The law limits the use of the State and county available school fund for the payment of teachers' and superintendents' salaries, fees for scholastic census, and commission to the county treasurer for receiving and disbursing the school funds, provided that when the State available school fund in any city or county is sufficient to maintain the schools in any year for at least eight months and leave a surplus, such surplus may be expended for purchasing appliances and supplies, payment of insurance premiums, janitors, and other employees, for buying school sites, buying, building, repairing, and renting schoolhouses, and for other purposes necessary in the conduct of the public schools. The people of any common school district may, upon proper petition to the commissioners' court, vote upon themselves a special tax not to exceed in any year 20 cents on the $100 valuation of taxable property for the building of schoolhouses or for supplementing the school fund apportioned to said district. Tuition fees of pupils not entitled to free tuition, and funds from other local sources may also be used for building or maintenance purposes. Property belonging to a school district can not be sold without an order from the commissioners' court.

4. FINANCES.

Funds (permanent and special)—Taxation.

Funds (permanent and special).—All funds, lands, and other property heretofore set apart and appropriated for the support of the public schools, all the alternate sections of lands reserved by the State out of grants heretofore made, or that hereafter may be made to railroads or other corporations of any nature whatsoever, one-half of the public domain of the State, and all sums of money that may come to the State from the sale of any portion of the same, shall constitute a perpetual public school fund. The interest arising from the fund and the State taxes shall be the available school fund. The available school fund shall be distributed to the several counties according to the scholastic population.

Taxation.-One-fourth of the revenue derived from the State occupation taxes and a poll tax of $1 on every male inhabitant 21 to 60 years of age shall be set apart annually for the benefit of public free schools; and in addition thereto there shall be levied and collected an annual ad valorem State tax of such an amount, not to exceed 20 cents on the $100, as with the available school-fund income will be sufficient to maintain and support the public free schools for a period of not less than six months in each year; and the legislature may authorize the school districts to raise an additional ad valorem tax, to be levied and collected within such districts, for the further maintenance of the public schools in the erection of school buildings therein: Provided, That. two-thirds of the taxpayers shall vote such tax, not to exceed in any one year 20 cents on the $100; but this limitation does not apply to incorporated cities or towns constituting separate or independent school districts.

VERMONT. @

1. ORGANIZATION OF THE SYSTEM.

State superintendent—Examiner of teachers-School directors-Town superintendent-Truant officers.

State superintendent.-The general assembly shall elect at each biennial session a superintendent of education, who shall have general supervision of the public schools of the State, and shall devote his whole time to the duties of his office, which, in case of vacancy, shall be filled by the governor. His annual salary shall be $2,000, with traveling expenses not to exceed $600. His office shall be at the statehouse, and he may employ clerical assistance at an annual compensation of $800. He is allowed $400 a year for publishing educational circulars, besides necessary disbursements for postage, expressage, printing, stationery, etc. He shall hold at least one but not more than two teachers' institutes or summer schools in each county during each biennial term, each such institute to continue not longer than four days, and each such teachers' summer school not longer than ten days. He may direct the examiner of teachers of a county to conduct the institute. In addition to the occasion of holding an institute, he shall visit annually each county and as many towns as possible, deliver lectures upon educational subjects, confer with and advise school officers and teachers. He shall prepare all questions for the examination of teachers, direct such examinations, and fix the standards of same; issue courses of study, circulars of educational information and prepare school registers, statistical blanks, etc.

He shall file quarterly a sworn itemized statement of his expenses, and present to the general assembly on the first day of each biennial session a report covering the two years last past, containing an account of his official doings, the condition of the schools, the expenditure of school money, and suggestions. Not more than 3,000 copies of such report shall be printed, 5 copies of which shall be sent to each examiner of teachers, and 1 copy each to members of the general assembly, town and district clerks, and principals of graded union and high schools.

Examiner of teachers.-At each biennial session of the legislature, or as soon as possible thereafter, the State superintendent and the governor shall appoint one resident of each county as examiner of teachers, who shall, under the direction of the State superintendent, make all necessary arrangements for holding teachers' institutes, assist in such institutes and also at summer schools, take measures to secure the attendance of teachers, and furnish statistical information. He shall hold public examinations of applicants for teachers' certificates, at such times and places as shall best accommodate the teachers of the county, and shall keep a complete record of the same. He shall receive $4 a day while actually employed in official duty, together with not to exceed $2 a day to cover necessary expenses, besides postage and stationery, and shall file an itemized and sworn statement of same every six months. He shall make a biennial report to the State superintendent, who, with the governor, may remove him for unfitness and fill any vacancy arising in the office.

School directors.-Three citizens of each town shall constitute a board of school directors, one of whom shall be elected at each annual meeting of the town for a term of three years; vacancies shall be filled temporarily by the selectmen. The compensation of school directors shall be fixed annually by the town.

School directors shall have the care of the town's school property and the management of its school; may purchase or sell sites and erect buildings, determining their number and location; shall keep schoolhouses suitably repaired and insured; employ teachers and fix their compensation by a majority vote; examine and allow claims arising therefrom, and draw orders upon the town treasurer for the payment of same; shall have authority to designate the schools which shall be attended by the various pupils, may provide for the instruction of advanced pupils, and make regulations not inconsistent with law for carrying the powers granted them into effect. They shall report fully to the annual town meeting.

Town superintendent.-The board of school directors shall, on or before the 1st day of April of each year, appoint a town superintendent of schools, whose

"The special provisions relating to incorporated school districts and school districts in unorganized towns and gores are not included in this digest.

compensation they shall fix. His duty shall be to visit the schools of the town at least once each term, and oftener if the school board so directs. He shall observe, when visiting a school, the condition of the buildings and grounds, the number of the scholastic appliances, maps, text-books, etc., and make suggestions to the board. He may dismiss any incompetent teacher. In towns having a graded school district under special act, the town and the special district may unite in the election of a town superintendent. Any two or more towns the aggregate number of schools in all of which is not more than 60 nor fewer than 20, may, by vote of the school directors of the several towns, unite for the purpose of employing a superintendent of schools, the directors of the several towns forming a joint committee for the election of the superintendent and determining the proportion of his salary to be paid by each town.

Truant officers.-The selectmen of each town and the mayor of each city shall annually appoint two truant officers, or, in case of failure to appoint, the constables, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or policemen shall act as truant officers. The truant officer, or a member of the board of school directors, or other authorized person, may arrest, and upon the written application of three voters in the town shall arrest, a child who is illegally absent from school. Any person charged with the duty of arresting truants who shall refuse or neglect to perform the duty imposed by law shall be fined not exceeding $100. All persons acting as truant officers shall be paid $2 a day for time actually spent, unless otherwise provided. On complaint of a teacher to a school director the truant officer shall inquire into the cause of a pupil's absence, and if he have reason to believe that the pupil's parent, guardian, or master has violated the laws regarding attendance, the truant officer shall immediately make complaint to a justice of the peace or judge of the municipal court, who shall issue a warrent to have the parent, guardian, or master brought before him.

2. TEACHERS.

Certificates-Dutics-Preliminary training-Institutes.

Certificates.-No person shall teach a public school without having a certificate or a permit, and a contract for teaching shall be void if the teacher does not obtain a certificate before opening school. No certificate will be granted to a person under 17 years of age. A certificate of graduation from the lower course of a normal school in the State shall be a license to teach in the public schools of the State for five years; from the higher course, ten years. A graduate of the lower course may, after one hundred weeks of successful teaching, present himself for examination in the studies of the higher course. A person who has held first-grade certificates for ten years and has taught two hundred weeks thereunder may, by concurrent action of the State superintendent and the county examiner, be granted, without examination, a certificate to teach in the public schools until same be revoked. A first-grade certificate, or a secondgrade certificate granted on examination, held by a teacher who is employed continuously in the same school, shall remain in force during such continuous employment.

A graduate of a normal school in another State approved by the State superintendent may, upon presentation of a diploma or certificate of graduation, receive without examination from an examiner of teachers a first-grade certificate valid for five years from date of graduation, subject to the same provisions as certificates of graduation from a normal school in this State. A graduate of a college approved by the State superintendent may, upon presentation of a diploma or certificate of graduation to an examiner of teachers, receive without examination a certificate of the first grade; and after having taught successfully forty weeks such graduate may receive without examination a second first-grade certificate after the expiration of the first. A person who has held a first or second grade certificate or its equivalent in other States, and presents evidence of recent and successful experience in teaching, may, under the approval of the State superintendent, without examination, receive a special second-grade certificate which shall be valid until the next public examination, or for a term not exceeding one year, when in the judgment of the examiner the exigencies of the case require.

The examination shall be oral and written, and shall be conducted by the examiner or some competent person appointed by him from printed questions prepared by the State superintendent. Certificates, issued by the examiner on blanks furnished by State superintendent, are of three grades. A first-grade cer

tificate shall be given only to one who has taught forty weeks successfully, whose examination papers show the applicant to have reached the standard required by the State superintendent, whose oral examination has been satisfactory, and who gives evidence of good moral character and ability to govern a school. Such certificate shall be a license to teach for five years in any town in the State. A second-grade certificate shall be granted to a candidate having taught twelve weeks, passed an examination in all the branches required by law to be taught in the common schools, proved by his papers that he has filled the requirements of the standard set by the State superintendent, and that he is of good moral character and capable of controlling a school. Such a certificate shall be a license to teach two years. A third-grade certificate shall be a license to teach for a specified time, not to exceed one year, and may, at the discretion of the examiner, be limited to the teaching of a particular school. One having twice taken a third-grade certificate, and who has taught at least twenty-four weeks, shall not afterwards be given a certificate of that grade. An examiner may give an applicant a private examination when the exigencies of the case require.

Teachers shall notify the clerk of the school board of the date, grade, and name of the grantor of their certificates before commencing school, and upon request shall submit same to his inspection. The contract of any teacher neglecting to comply with this provision shall be considered void.

Other duties.-Before commencing school the teacher shall secure a register from the clerk of the school board, keep therein in the prescribed form a record of the daily attendance of each pupil, enter therein correct answers to all interrogatories addressed to teachers, and return such register to said clerk at the end of each term, the final return to be on or before April 1. Teachers shall promptly notify school directors of any cases of truancy in their respective schools.

Preliminary training.—The normal schools at Randolph, Johnson, and Castleton are continued until August, A. D. 1920. The board of control for the three State normal schools consists of the State superintendent of education; a commission of three persons, one appointed each year by the governor for a term of three years; and a resident commissioner for each of the schools, appointed biennially by the governor. Members of the commission appointed by the governor, except the resident commissioner, shall receive $4 a day each and their traveling expenses for the time spent in the performance of their duties. Resident commissioners receive compensation for their traveling expenses when in discharge of their duties.

The board of control have the care of the three normal and training schools; they establish courses of study and revise the same when necessary; determine the conditions for admission to and for graduation from the normal schools; provide for the issue of certificates to teach to all persons of good moral character who may pass the examinations required for graduation, and may revoke the same for good and sufficient reasons; select and employ all teachers for the normal and training schools, and dismiss them when the interests of the school demand it.

The board, by their treasurer, receive all moneys appropriated from the State treasury for the support of the schools, and all moneys accruing to the schools from other sources, and apply the same in their discretion for the benefit of the schools. Eighteen thousand dollars is annually appropriated, in three equal parts, for the use of the schools.

A graduate of an academy, seminary, or high school in a four years' course, following ap elementary course of nine years, approved in writing by the board of normal school commissioners, and having included at least thirty weeks of daily study and recitation in the principles and methods of education, definitely outlined by the State superintendent of education, may receive, after successfully passing an examination in the educational course herein described, under the direction of the normal school commissioners, a certificate of the second grade from the examiner of the county in which he intends to teach, upon the presentation of both a certificate of graduation and a certificate of the completion of the educational course from the board of normal school commissioners.

Institutes.-The State superintendent shall hold a teachers' institute in each county during each biennial term except as hereinafter provided, and may hold additional institutes if in his judgment advisable; but not more than two institutes shall be held in any county during a biennial term, nor shall an institute continue more than four days. Provided no institute is held in a county dur

ing any year, the superintendent of education and examiners of teachers may arrange for and conduct a summer school for teachers, the expense of which to the State shall not exceed $25 per day for not more than ten days, and the examiner may receive from the State compensation for not more than ten days for his services in connection with such summer school. Provided no institute or summer school is held in a county during any year, he may hold educational meetings in different towns in such county and employ competent assistance, but the expense per day shall not exceed the present allowance per day for institutes or summer schools; and the entire expense of such series of meetings in a county for any year shall not exceed the present allowance for institutes or summer schools, which shall be paid by the superintendent of education and be allowed in the settlement of his account.

In every teachers' institute especial attention shall be given to the training of teachers in methods of instruction; and the superintendent of education may employ persons specially skilled in such work to aid at an institute when advisable to do so.

The entire expense of a teachers' institute shall not exceed $30 for each day's session, which shall be paid by the superintendent of education and be allowed in the settlement of his account.

The time, not exceeding four days, actually spent by the teacher of a common school in attendance upon a teachers' institute or State teachers' association during the time such teacher is engaged to teach shall be considered as spent in teaching, nor shall legal holidays be considered as days lost.

3. SCHOOLS.

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

Attendance. The term "legal pupils" shall include all persons between the ages of 5 and 18 years. No child under 5 years of age shall be received as a pupil, though school directors may establish a public kindergarten for such. Every person having under his control a child of good health and sound mind between 8 and 15 years of age shall cause it to attend a public school at least twenty-eight weeks in the year, unless such child has been otherwise furnished with the means of education for a like period or has already acquired the branches of study required by law to be taught in the public schools. No child under 15 years of age shall be employed in a mill or factory unless such child shall have attended a public school twenty-eight weeks during the preceding year, and shall deposit with the owner or person in charge of such mill or factory a certificate showing such attendance, signed by the teacher. No person shall employ children under 15 years of age who can not read and write, though capable of receiving instruction in those arts, during the time when the school such person should attend is in session. The penalty for violation of these provisions is not less than $5 nor more than $25, to be adjudged by any justice of the peace.

The board of school directors may use a portion of the school money for the purpose of conveying pupils to and from school.

Character of instruction.-In every town there shall be kept for at least twenty-eight weeks in each year, at the expense of the town, by a competent teacher or teachers of good morals, a sufficient number of schools for the instruction of all the children who may legally attend the public schools therein, and all pupils shall be thoroughly instructed in good behavior, reading, writing, spelling. English grammar, geography, arithmetic, free-hand drawing, the history and the Constitution of the United States, and in elementary physiology and hygiene, and shall receive special instruction in the geography, history, constitution, and principles of the government of Vermont. Said school shall be within the limits of the town supporting it, and may be established at such places and held at such times as in the judgment of the board of directors will best subserve the interests of education and give all the children of the town as nearly equal advantages as may be practicable. Directors shall provide for the instruction of advanced pupils in the higher branches of study, in high schools maintained by the town or in high schools or academies of other towns or districts. Vocal music may be taught if allowed by vote of the town. Boards of directors may also establish evening schools and kindergartens.

Text-books.The school board of each town, city, or graded school district shall furnish at public expense all appliances, supplies, and text-books used in