The log cabin Democrat., 1907-04-18
BILL TO ENFORCE ATTENDANCE
Compulsory Education Law is
 Introduced.
Representative Bullion Asks for Opinion ot People of His County on the
 New Measure.

the legislature to enforce attend ance at the schools of the state, or what is commonly known as compulsory education law. Rep resentative T. J. Bullion of this county, who is chairman of the house committee on education, to which the bill was referred, has
 sent the proposed law to The Log
 Cabin Democrat for publication, and requests that the people study it carefully and write their views on the subject to him at once.
 The bill in full is given below: A Bill for an Act to Regulate and Enforce At
 tendance at the Schools of the State of Arkan-
 
 Be it Enacted by the General Assempy oi the
 State of Arkansas:
 Section | Every parent, guardian or other person in the state of Arkansas having charge and control of a child between the ages Of and 14 years shall cause each child to attend regu- larly some day school, public, private, parochlal or parish not less than half of the entire time the public school said child attends IS III ses- sion or shall provide such child at home with
 such regular daily instruction during the usual hours as shall be- in the judgment of court or
 school board having complete lurlsdictlon' sup.
 stantially equivalent to at least the instruction
 qiven the children of like age and advancement
 At said day public school in the locality III which said child resides.
 Provided, that every parent, guardian or oth- < CT person in the State of Arkansas, having tscharge and control of white child between the @aqes of l4 and 16 years, who IS not actively and regularly and lawfully engaged in some useful
 employment service shall cause said child to attend school as hereinbefore provided TOT ChlI-
 dren from to II years.
 Section ?, A child between the ages aforesaid
 may be excused temporarily from complying
 with the provisions of this act in whole or In
 part if it be shown to court of competent Ju-
 risdiction or school board of said district that parent or guardian or person having charge or
 control of said child is not able through extreme dcstitution to provide or obtain in any way
 proper clothing for said child or that sald child
 is mentally or physically incapacited 10 attend school for the whole period required or any part thereof or that there IS no pubic school taught within two and one-half miles of the residence of said child by the nearest traveled road or that the labor of said child IS absolutely
 necessary for the support of the family or that
 said child has completed a common school course including eight grades ana ,d mas nd
 uany child is unable to attend school as here
 inbefore required by not being able to procure books satisfactory proof of same, school hoard shall purchase said books out of the gen eral school fund for use of said child.
 Section 3. The board having charge of pub
 lie school in a city or district of 3,OOO or more
 population by the last census may appoint and
 remove at pleasure one or more attendance Of,
 fcers to enforce the provisions of th1s act ana
 shall fix the compensation and manner of per
 formance of the duties said attendance ofhcers and shall pay them from the public school funds of said city or district and the attendance of
 6cers as aforesaid shall secure written or print
 ed notices upon the parents or guardlans or
 persons who have charge and control oi chll
 dren as aforesaid who violate the provisions of this Act; shall when reasonable doubt exists as
 to the age of any such child require properly
 attt sted birth certificate or an afhdavlt stating
 such child's age and date ot birth and physical
 characteristics; shall have the right to visit and hsnter any office or factory or business house tsm ploying children as aforesaid; shall have the
 right to require a properly attested certihcate of attendance of any child or children at such
 day school; shall have the power to arrest with
 out warrant all truants and non attendants as
 aforesaid and place them i'll some public school
 unless the parents, guardians or persons in
 charge and control of said children respectively
 shall at once place them in some other day
 school aforesaid and shall serve the legal no
 tice and subpoenas of the court and make such
 required arrests in the case which they prose
 cute without fur. her fee or compensation than that paid by the board as aforesaid, and shall carry into effect such other regulations as may lawfully be required by the board appointing them.
 Section l. The board having charge of the public schools of any city or district having 10000 or more population by the last census may establish and maintain from the public school funds more ungraded truants or parental schools in such city CT district for whites only or any school board may at its dis cretion purchase land and maintain such school either within without their own school dls- tricts for white children who are between the ages oi and 10 years, and who habiual tru ants from any day school in which they are en- rolled pupils, or who while in attendance at any school, are incorrigible vicious or immoral, or who habitually wander or loiter about the woods or other public places without lawful employment, and such children snail De ,lSaid school board through its officers, be as- A $igned to and required and compelled to attend kuch truant or parental school or any depart ment of the graded schools as such school board or court may direct.
 Section 5. Any parent or guardian or person ~nyrtrf nf Qxuh tta he tween the ages of and 10 years violate any of the provisions of this act shall be warned as aforesaid as soon as possible after the beginning of the public schools term of the city or town district in which such child resides and also at any time thereafter by the attendance officer z herein provided for. by clerk of district where no attendar ce officer is provided for, to place and keep said child in regular attendance at some day school within ten days from the service of the said written or printed notice of X warning, and upon failure to comply with this N act aher the lapse of ten days from the date of the service of said notice of warning, said par ent guardian or person having charge or control of said child shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall pay fine of not less than ten (SlOOO dollars and not more than twenty five ($25 0O dollars. Provided, that such fine may be suspended and finally reunited by court with or without
 payment of cost at discretion of the court if the said child be immediately placed and kept in regular attendance in some day school as afore- said and if such fact of regular attendance is \ proven subsequently, to the satisfaction of said s2Gourt by attested certificate of attendance by
 be superintendent or teacher of said day
 ehool.
 Section Every board having charge of the
 public schools of any city or town or district in 4 the State Of Arkansas shall each year publish synopsis of this act ten days prior to the open ing of school ID a newspaper published in the @ town. city or district in which the members # thereof reside or shall post copies thereof in 4 five or more public places i'll the district will # in their judgment best give knowledge thereof. & Section ' No child between and II years of ~ age shall be employed in any mine, factory, T work shop. mercantile establishment or any sk other manner during the usual school hours s unlt ss the person employing him shall hrst se procure certificate from the superintendent or teacher of the school he or she attended stating that such child attended school for. the period ksrequired by law or has been excused from at z Tendance as provided in Section 2, and It shall be the duty of superintendent or teacher to fur z nish such certificate upon application of par ent, guardian or person having control ot such child entitled to same.