The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-07-05
DEYOE'S OPINION ON
TUITION STUDENTS
Essential That Student be Fully Pre-
pared for Entrance to High
Schools Of State.
OPINION RESULT OF INQUIRIES
After Consulting Attorney General
State Superintendent Renders
An Opinion.


superintendent of public instruction,
made public his opinion regarding
qualifications of rural students who
desire to take advantage of the pro-
visions of the free tuition law passed
by the last legislature. The opinion
was called out by numerous inquiries
regarding that section of the bill
which defines what a rural student
must do to get free tuition, and is as
follows:
( First. The student must have
4 certificate of age and residence signed
by resident or the secretary of his
home corporation.
g Second. The pupil must present
certificate of proficiency signed by the
county superintendent, covering the
following branches: Reading, orthog-
raphy, arithmetic, physiology, gram
mar, civics, geography, United States
history, penmanship and music; pro-
vided, however, he may be admitted
to any grade in such high school, in
Guiding the ninth, by passing a salts
factory examination before the school
authorities Of the high school where he
may desire to attend. The pupil must
present a certificate signed by the
county superintendent or pass sat
isfactory examination before the
school authorities where he may de-
sire to attend high school. A state
ment or certificate Of proficiency in
the branches enumerated above is i'm
piled as necessary in order to be en-
titled to enter the ninth grade in
either case. Pupils having completed
a part of the high school course prior
to the taking effect of this act may
have met all the conditions required
ninth grade.
"Of course it is understood that
any district Offering a two years high
school course, or three years high
school course, would be compelled to
pay the tuition for remaining number
of years only in order to make total
of four years. We are inclined to the
opinion that pretense, in fact, OF
maintaining four years high school
in order to avoid the payment of tut
ton of pupils in another district would
not be upheld by the court as consti-
tuting four years high school. Never
theless, in the absence Of any law fix
ing any definite standard of what shall
constitute high school of any class.
considerable latitude would be recog-
nized in making courses of study.
1T would be very unwise for any
pupil to seek to gain admission to.
any high school before fully prepared
to do so. City or town superintendent
may do children a grave injustice in
an effort to secure tuition pupils by
making the examination any less rigid
than the eighth grade examination
given by the county superintendent.
age of any pupil to attend high school
that offers only, in fact, so-called
'high school course" Some districts
may be we'll prepared to carry on a
two years high school course, or even
a three years high school course, but
not four years high school course.
The attempt to do more years of work
than the equipment or teaching force
warrants would undoubtedly mean
inferior work done by the school, A
pupil may under such circumstances
attend high school Offering So
called four years high school course
when, in fact, the work done is equiv
alent to only two or three years In
good high school. 1t would be to the
advantage of any high school to at
tempt only as many years OF high
school work as it can creditably do.
The quality of the work done so far
as conducted should correspond. or be
equivalent, TO the standard for the
same number of years in good high
school. 1t should be remembered that
the home district may pay for no more
than four years Of tuition for any
one person"
Melted wap At INA GROVE