Evening star., 1925-03-15
Compulsory Education.

The task of puttifg into effect the
provisions of tho new compulsory
education and Snool census law is
today before the authorities charged
with the enfor' S.ment of that measure.
Recently, at = meeting between school
officers and Representatives of certain
local welf;ne agencies. the problems
involved were considered and dis
cussed.
The new law provides that certain
chhdf-tn between the ages of IA and
10 years. who have hitherto been per
m 6ted to fail TO attend public school,
fman henceforth be required to at
tend. That law is in operation today,
yet it appears that the return 10
school on the part. of the children
involved has to date been negligible.
These children may be divided into
two ella sses-those who. equipped
with work permits, were. under the
from school, and those who have.
without work permits. 80 absented
themselves. Under the new law no
work permits shall be issued save 10
children between the ages of IA and
Is years who have completed an
eighth-grade education. And all chill
dren Of less than 16 lacking an
eighth grade education and a work
permit who are today absent from
school are absent in violation of the
law, in many cases owing to the
ignorance on the part of their par
ents as to what the law is
The difficulties under which the en-
forcement authorities today labor are
these: The only children involved
who are Immediately traceable are
those to whom work permits have
been issued. The equity of forcing
those whose earnings are theoretically
necessary to a family's support into
school while there is no way of
reaching those who are not working
is of obvious dubiety.
Pending the taking of the school
census, which will be undertaken in
July the only course open to the
school authorities is to seek to per
suade the children involved and those
responsible for them. to return to
school, as the law requires. But bv
next september prosecutions under
the law of all who fail to appear for
the new school year will be in. order
and will no doubt be vigorously un.
dertaken
The tentative proposal to establish
a continuation school, where night
work would be permitted to replace
day work for those who under the
old law would have gone without fur
ther education on work permits is
not likely to be pressed The testi-
mony of the health authorities that
such work would be a severe mental
and physical strain upon the children
concerned, combined with the belief
of responsible authorities that in
stances where the labor of children is
really essential to family support are
very rare in Washington. would seem
TO render such an innovation unneces-
sary. The child requiring schooling
is obviously best environed in a nor.
NAL day school among the com
panions regularly to be found there.
Summed up, the work of vigorous
enforcement Of the law will of neces-
sity he postponed until the opening
Of the new school year next Fall.
though this in no wise absolves the
guardians Of children affected by the
new law from the legal obligation to
send them to school at once. Once
that enforcement is undertaken every
effort will be bent TO seeing that every
Washington child less than IS years
old who has not completed the eighth
grade shall be on the job obtaining
that education which Diogenes pro
nounced to be the foundation of
every state" And that is as il
should be.