The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1919-05-17
SPEAKS OUR SENTIMENTS

PCOPiS having any AoA A0Sd Va AIS
provisions:
Mr.. Williams of Leon drafted d
good bill and it passed the House. But
it overlooked the large number of
private schools except to place them
with one sweep under the county
superintendent.
The private schools are numerous.
In Jacksonville alone there are Miss
Jacobs school, the Florida Military
Academy, the University School for
Boys, the Flagler College, private tu-
tors, governesses, ana select schools.
These are all vitality effected by the
House bill. Their rights are swept
out of their hands, where the charters
place it, and the control is put in the
Office of the county superintendent.
The superintendent helped in franz
ing the bill.
Then there are the industrial
schools like those at Pensacola, De-
Funiak Springs, DeLand and other
places over the state. Every one of
them was struck by this bill. They
were transformed into public schools.
This is violation of their spirit, pur-
pose and history.
The colleges, academies, normal
schools, business colleges and indus
trial schools conducted by Baptists,
Presbyterians, Congregationalists
Seventh Day Adventists, Episcopa-
lians, are all taken out of the hands
of their trustees and governing
boards and put in the hands of the
county superintendent.
The academy at Stetson, the acad-
envy and industrial school at Rollins
College, the preparatory school at
Sutherland, Palmer College at DeFu-
MAX, the Cathedral school of the Epis-
copalians at Orlando, the Methodist
school at Key West, the small schools
of the adventists and others would all
pass under the control of the county
superintendent.
These free schools are not, never
were, and never ought to be, under
the supervision of the county school
system. The state does not pay for
them. The private school existed long
before there were any public schools.
They have served the world, the state,
the country, the city. They called into
existence the whole public school sys-
tenn. From their very nature they
vary in character, meet special needs,
are the offspring of worthy citizens,
save the state a lot of money, and
ought to be conserved, fostered and
promoted. Give them full liberty of
action. Don't strike at them. And
don't dry up their springs and
sources of life by prohibiting any one
from attending them, or by permit
ting unfriendly county superintend-
ents to interfere with them or with
their students.
The Hulley amendment strikes the
following out of the Williams bill,
namely: Before any instruction by
private teacher or private school shall
be accepted in lieu of attendance upon
a public school, such private teacher
or private school shall be approved
by the board of public instruction of
the county" But what would happen,
| if they were hostile. They sometimes
are hostile.
The HUXLEY amendment strikes the
following out of the Williams bill,
namely: eff for any reason it is deem
ed advisable that any child attend any
school In any district other than that
in which any parent, guardian or
other person having the custody, con-
troll or charge of such child resides,
permission shall first be obtained
from the county superintendent"
Suppose he is trinitarian and wants
to hit unitarian child, he can do it.
He must not be given the power to do
it. He has enough to do in running
his own public schools.
The Hulley amendment strikes out
the following from the Williams bill,
namely: "And child may be taught by
parent, guardian or private teacher
upon written authority from the
county superintendent" But he is not
bound to grant the permission. The
Williams bill added that the county
superintendent els hereby authorized
to grant such permission only in cases
OF necessity" Behold the extreme of
kaiserism. Where would that land us
Again, "they shall report to the coun-
ty superintendent and he should ex-
anime them in the work covered" at
least twice year, and che may re-
woke the authority" and such parents
and teachers shall 'be liable to the
penalties" carried in the bill
The Hulley amendment still further
aims to protect. all private schools.
For instance, there are certain ex-
emptions from the application of the
law granted for children mentally or
physically incapacitated"; those ''thru
the eighth grade" "those having de-
pendent mothers" those too far from
school, those too poor. and unusual
cases and then with one stroke takes
it all back by empowering the attend
ance officer to reverse any exemption
granted hereunder" This power is
stricken out. The bill of Mr.. Will
Jams further gave the county super
irtendent power to require any child
to go to the public rather than the
private school,