Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-01-16
UNIFORM TEXT BOOKS.
Dr.. Tolar's Bill to Provide for Adoption OF a
Uniform System of Text Books in the
Public Schools.

Correspondence OF. the Gazette.
AUSTIN, TEX. jan II Following is
| the. full text of the bill introduced by
Dr. ALT H H. Tolar to-day:
An act to provide for the adoption and
introduction of a uniform system of
text books in the public free schools of
the state of Texas.
Section Be it enacted by the legisla-
| ture of the state OF Texas, that board
for the selection and adoption of text
| books for the public free schools of this
state is hereby created, to be composed
of the superintendent of public instruc-
! ton, the commissioner of the general
land office and the secretary of state, and
| their successors in office, whose duty it
| shall be prior to the first day of August,
| 1889, to select and adopt for use in the
| public free schools of the several organ
! lied counties of this state, a list of text
/ books for the branches of study required
| or allowed by the public school law to be
taught in the public free schools; and
| said text books when they shall have
been selected and adopted shall be used
! in all the public schools of this state, and
no other text books shall be used in
said schools in the prescribed subjects.
| Sec. 3. The state superintendent shall
| be eX-oficio chairman of the text
| book board, and said board
| shall select from their number
| a secretary whose duty it shall be to make
| and preserve complete record Of the
| board IS proceedings, including the list of
| books adopted, all of which shall be re-
| corded in a book and deposited in the de-
! partment of education.
Sec. 3. 1t shall be the duty of the
| text book board to solicit and receive
| from the different publishers of school
books, proposals at which they will agree
to furnish the same to patrons of schools
in each county. Said proposals must be
in writing and sealed to be opened by the
text book board on day to be fixed by
said board and must state what books or
books they propose to furnish and the
terms and prices at which they propose
to furnish the same. And it is further
more made the duty of the board to
make contract or contracts with the
publisher or publishers whose book or
books have been selected for adoption:
said contract or contracts to be in writing
and to set forth fully and expressly that
said book or books shall be used in the
public schools of this state and the prices
at which the book or books selected for
adoption are to be furnished to patrons,
and such other details as the board may
deem requisite, and said publisher or pub
fishers shall execute a bond or bonds
to be approved by the board in
such sum as the board may require
payable to the state of Texas with two or
more good and sufficient sureties there
on, conditioned for the faithful per-
Torrance and observance of all the
terms and conditions of the contract.
The bond or bonds required by this act
NJ. Al,
and on the direction of the text book
board it shall be the duty of the at
torney-general to enter suit thereon for
any violation of the terms of contract on
the part Of such publishers and any
amount recovered thereon shall belong to
the available public free school fund
The text book board shall reserve the
right in said contracts to annul the same
at any time upon satisfactory information
or evidence that the publishers are failing
to comply or i'll any manner evading
compliance with the conditions and terms
of the contract entered into
Sec. 4. When text books shall have
been selected and adopted for the public
free schools as, provided for in the pre-
ceding sections of this act, it shall not be
lawful to supercede any book or books so
adopted by any other book within the
adoption; provided, that when a contract
is considered by the text book board for
cause other books may be adopted by the
board to supply the place of those of de-
faulting contractors.
Sec. 5. No book of partisan or Sec
tional character shall ever be used in the
free schools of this state, nor shall any
book faYoring the doctrine or tenets of
any particular religious or anti-r eligious
sect or denomination ever be adopted for
use in said schools; but nothing herein
contained shall operate to prevent the
reading of the Bible in such schools; pro-
vided, the trustees approve it; and
provided further, no pupil shall be |
required to read the Bible when |
his parents or guardians object. |
Sec. 6. The Introduction of the new
text books shall be graduated in such a |
a manner as to cause as little loss as pos
sible, but in the formation of new classes
the new books shall be used; provided |
that after the lst of September, 1890, |
only those that have been adopted can be |
used; and provided further, that when |
arrangements can be made with publish
ers of the books adopted for exchange of |
the new for old books already in use ar
engagements may be made.
Sec. z. 1t shall be the duty of the state
and county superintendent to enforce
the use in each and all the public schools
of the text books selected and adopted by
the textbook board, and in case any
patron refuse to provide child with the
required text books said child shall be
debarred from instruction i'll the school
until said books have been supplied
Sec. s. AS soon as the county superin-
tendent shall have been informed of said
list OF text books adopted for use in the
state it shall be his duty TO make known
such adopted list, and the place or places
where the same are to be had, and cause
to be posted up in each schoolhouse the
publishers prices of books so adopted.
Sec. 8. All laws and parts of laws in
conflict with this act are hereby repealed.
Assiep,,an+ at San Antonio