Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1919-09-03
ON COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE,
NJ. IL. Mcdonald Gives His Ideas as
to Intent of tho Law.
Editor Kepwee Courier:

the Legislature when the act was
passed wish to see it become Il
popular idea with the patrons Of all
the schools OF our county. All of
the parents ought to send their chill
dren to school every month in the
year If possible, and no parent ought
TO have a legal right to prevent or
hinder his or her child from obtain
ing an ordinary education--to at
least learn reading, writing and ar
ithmetic.
In the issue Of The Keowee Cou-
rier OF August 27th appeared an ar
ticle signed by the attendance officer.
Mrs. Jesse w. Rankin, in which the
following words were used:
Every child from eight to
fourteen years Of age must at
tend school four consecutive
months during the school term.
The County Board Of Education
has ruled that the first four
months are the ones your child
will be compelled to attend"
Since this article was published
several parents Of children liable to
school attendance have come to me
and asked me If that was really the
law as quoted by the attendance Off
Ger; that they could not afford to
lose the help Of their children out
of the crops during gathering time,
but they would like to have the op-
portunity Of sending their children
to school later IN the scholastic year
because OF the high cost and scarcity
Of labor. In Other words, good
many people who are in favor Of
compulsory education have become
displeased over the fact that they
are liable to prosecution for not
starting their children in school at
the beginning Of the term.
have the compulsory school law
open before me while writing this
article, and, as stated above, was in
the Legislature when 1t was made a
law and in my nine years of exper-
icnce as lawyer | wish to differ
from Mrs. Rankin and the County
Board Of Education as to what the
law really is.
I think the County Board Of Ed
ucation was wrong when it's mem
bers ruled that the first four months
are the ones your child will be COM
pcllcd TO attend" The law says that
"Children between the ages of
eight and fourteen years Of age
residing within = X miles from a
school must go four consecutive
months, or eighty days during
the scholastic year, that tho
school attended is in session:
Provided, That in case the term
Of any school is less than four
months or eighty days, attend
ance for the full term Of such
school shall be sufficient
You may observe that the law
says, -Four consecutive months in
which the school is in session" In
other words, | think, ii any ch IL liza
BILE to attendance under the law.
should 20 four consecutive months
any time during the months I'm
which school is in session, strictly
complies with the law. Furthermore.
in my opinion, (and am sustained
by majority Of the lawyers in Wal
halla,) that should any child go to
school eighty days during the school
term, the law Will have been com
piled with, for the law reads, -Four
consecutive months, or eighty days"
The attendance officer takes the po-
sition that when one begins to go to
school he, or she. must 60 consecu-
tfvcly. | differ with her, but really
think that each child ought to go
consecutively. and nave no objec-
tion to her applying the law her way
in that respect. | only wish to pro-
test, in the name Of the law and
various parents Of children, that they
nave the right to start their chill
dren to school in November, Deem
ber, January, or any other month
they please, just so they start them
in time to go four months. (Four
school months means eighty days.
don't blame the attendance OFF,
Ger Tor trying to do as she was ad-
viscd by the County Board OF Edu-
cation, but 1T seems to me that. in