The San Francisco call., 1904-09-11
BOARD CANNOT
BAR JAPANESE
City Attorney Long Holds
Schools Must Be Opened
for All Kinds of Pupils
STATE LAW is CLEAR
Any Discrimination Against
Children Is Not Possible
Under the Constitution

City Attorney Long yesterday rem
dered an opinion that Japanese chill
dren or those of Chinese descent can
not be lawfully excluded from the pub
lie schools. The opinion was asked for
by the Board of Education In view Of
the many applications coming from
Japanese children to attend the schools.
especially the Polytechnic High School.
where manual training is taught in all
Of its branches.
In support Of his opinion Long quotes
from section 1862 of the Political Code,
which provides that every school must
be opened for the admission Of all chill
dren between and 81 years Of age re-
siding in the district. but gives power
to Boards Of Education to establish
schools for Indian children and for
children of Mongolian or Chinese de-
scent, and in that event such children
shall not be admitted to other schools.
The opinion says:
SEPARATE SCHOOLS.
Discrimination against children. of
school age, however descended, is not
possible under either constitution or
statute, and children of Mongolian de-
scent cannot be lawfully excluded from
schools attended by white children un-
less separate schools for their educa-
ton are provided, with all the facilities
as to grade and curriculum provided for
those schools attended exclusively by
children of white parentage. (Ward VS..
Flood, 4S Cal, 5SS.)
1T follows that the Board Of Educa-
ton Of this city and county may estab-
lish separate schools for children of
Mongolian descent, and that when such
schools are established. with education
al facilities equal to other schools in
the same district provided for children
of white parentage, children Of Mongo-
lian descent must not be admitted to
any other school,
From the records Of the Board of
Education I learn that there is now a
separate school, known as the Chinese
Primary School, to which Mongolian
children OF either Chinese or Japanese
descent may be admitted. This is a
school of five grades and possesses IA
cilities equal to those provided for
schools Of similar grades attended by
white children, and so long as 1t exists
and is maintained by the Board of
Education as a separate school for the
education of children Of Mongolian de-
scent such children requiring instruc-
ton in such grades must not be admit
| ted to any other school,
ADMISSION OF CHILDREN.
IF the capacity Of such school Is not
great enough to. meet the demands fnI
admission Of such children In such
grades it should be Increased as the
conveniences Of the School Department
will admit, but it is my opinion that &C
long as a separate school IL established
and maintained by the Board Of Educa-
tion for the education Of children OF
Chinese and Japanese descent-that Is
Of Mongolian parentage-suchc children
requiring instruction In the studies Of
such grades must be required to attend
such school, and must not be admitted
to any other school, (Section 1852, Po-
litical Code.)
ION the other hand, II is equally true
that children Of Mongolian descent re-
| quiring instruction In moro advanced
grades than those provided In the Chi
nese primary school must be admitted
without discrimination. in the other
schools Of the department until such
time as higher grades are established
and maintained IN such Chinese
schools"