The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-03-17
Test Cases on Vaccination
Decided at Williamsport.
AN EXHAUSTIVE OPINION
The Court Reviews the Facts and Decides
That the Beard Had Right to Refuse
Admission to Children not Complying
with the Ordinances

AS the School Board of Shenandoah has
ordered that all children who do not
show certificates of vaccination by April
49, next. will be suspended from the pub
lie schools and the people are engaged in
discussing the question whether the
Board has right to make such an order,
the opinion in the case of Andrew j.
Duflield vs. the School District of the
city of Williamsport, which was decided
by Judge Metzger, of Lycoming county,
on Thursday, will no doubt be perused
with interest by the HERALD readers.
AS the child of Mr.. Duflield was not
vaccnated the School Board of Williams
port refused to allow it to attend school.
Mr. Dufiield asked the court for man
damus commanding the Board to admit
the child.
The court recites all that has been done
and proceeds to consider whether the
child has been unlawfully excluded De
cisions of the supreme court are cited to
the effect that school boards are quasi
corporations the same as counties and
townships, and that if they exercise their
discretionary powers unwisely there is no
judicial remedy.
The opinion proceeds
1t must be conceded that a School Board
can exercise no other powers than: First,
those granted in express Words second,
those necessarily or fairly implied in or
incident to the powers expressly granted:
third, those essential to the declared OBJ
ject and purposes for which the school
district was created.
After careful research ! find no act of
Assembly which by express words confers
upon the School Board of any district the
power exercised by the board of school
directors in this case If, therefore, they
have such power it must arise by neces-
sary implication In addition to the ex-
press powers delegated by the Legislature
of Pennsylvania to the boards of school
directors, enumerated in the act of 1854,
the Legislature granted them the power
to exercise a general supervision over the
public schools of their districts. If in the
exercise of this power OF general super
vision the board of directors were to find
1t necessary for the purpose of continuing
the schools to adopt a sanitary measure
for the purpose of preventing the spread
of disease among the pupils, we think
they clearly have the power to adopt such
measure,
The purpose of the school system is the
education at the expense of the public of
all persons within certain ages The OBJ
ject of the creation of districts is to more
conveniently accomplish the purpose of
the system of public schools. This object
cannot be accomplished unless the body
having supervision of the schools in the
respective districts has power to adopt
suchsrules and regulations as would EN-
able them at all times to keep the schools
open, and afford all children of school age
within the district the benefit of proper
instruction. 1t is clearly the right as well
'as the duty of the board of school direc-
tors in case of imminent danger of the
8 l..
thing in their power that may be deemed
necessary to prevent such diseases from
being carried and transmitted to the pu-
pills of the school by those infected with
it or those who by reason of their contact
with infected persons are likely to inocu-
late others with whom they are allowed
to mingle. This power If il exists could
not be advantageously exercised in any
other way than by the exclusion from the
school of the parties who are likely to
spread the disease among the pupils. If
the board of school directors had in no
case'such power they would be pOwerless
to preserve the existence of the schools
during the period when contagious dis
eases were abroad in the community.
But it may be said that although in such
an emergency such power might be ex-
ercised by any temporary suspension of
the pupil, he would have TO be reinstated
as soon as the danger ceased; that the
bbdIAl VI AliNNNOI0 NOAAlAl lluh HuSHtuu any
pupil permanently for any such cause
We may grant this position. But we do
not see that this necessarily conflicts with
the position taken by the School Board
in this case. According to the facts
stated in the answer the danger of this
disease becoming epidemic in the city of
WllliamspOrt has not yet ceased to exist
and even during the continuance of the
danger il is not proposed permanently to
exclude this pupil from school. He can
by his own act any day make himself
eligible for admission to the school. He
is keeping himself out of school by refus-
ing TO comply with the ordinance of the
city of WilliamspOrt which it was deemed
necessary by the School Board of said dis
trict to recognize as a precautionary
measure to prevent the introduction and
spread of the loathsome disease of small
poX in the city of Williamsport.
Granting, however that no such danger
exists and no such emergency has arisen
which would justify the School Board in
assuming such authority Of their own
volitiOn, are they not justified in eXclud-
ing from school any pupil who seeks to
enter in violation of the ordinance of the
city of WilliamsportY In such a case is
not the pupil illegally attempting to enter
the school and are not the board of direC-
tors simply discharging their duty when
they refuse to admit it in violation of the
city ordinanceY
Granting, for the sake Of the argument,
that the school board have no police
power, and, therefore, can make no rules,
orders or regulations relating to the
health of the children, they certainly have
a right to obey and enforce obedience to
the ordinances on the subject enacted by
the proper authorities. With the
wisdom of this ordinance we have nothing
to do. The city of Williamsport having
the undoubted power tC make regulations
to secure the general health of the in
habitants, are the judges of the necessity