Compulsory School Attendance Laws ¿,.3 .4
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OFTHE INTERIOR Harold L Ickes,Secretary OFFICE OF EDUCATION J. W.STUDEBAIMPI, Commissioner . l COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCELAWS AND THEIRADMINISTRATION * By WALTER S.DEFFENBAUGH Chief, Division ofAmerican School Systems and WARD W. KEESECKER Specialist in SchoolLegislation es . , lasii\ .4 . ( I ofir I 9-4rifor **z...1. .q,* NN BULLETIN,1935, No. 4 e .- 11, UNITED STATES 1 Ilk GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOFFICE WASHINGTON:1935 Per solo by the ewer IntendantalDocument., Washington,D. C.---Price 10mots a. 3 .c J.--... 1 . CONTENTS v rage . FOREWORD VII PURPOSE . ii THE: PROBLEMOP SCHOOLATTENDANCE___________ _- - --A- - 1 of Magnitudenonattendance 1 Causes . of absencesfrom school -, 4 Effects of absence fllornschool . i . _ _ _ _ _ 5 Developmentof compulsoryKhool attendance laws _ _ 6e Improvementin schodlattendance , 9 SCHOOLATTENDANCEREQUIREMENTS _ _ _ _ _ ...._ .. _ _ _ Om . ... alg.. 11 Compulsoryattridanceages , 11 Amount ofattendancerequired ... ...... 14 Number ofyears 14 Amount of attendance . OMan. =I, required eachyear Mr OM 14 Exemptions .4 .- _ ...... 15 . Minimumamount ofeducation 15 gr. Workpermits 16 Attendanceatprivitteorparochialschools__ _ _ _ _ _ - _ _ _ 17 Distancefrom school 17 Churchobservance 19 Childrenof indigent parents ... ee . mi.am. 19 Indefiniteexemptions _ ... ..... __r........... .4..... OW.. M 21 Provisionsfor . administration__ 22., . The schoolcent;:MD =I a.m......~........ __________........m..m.... , . , 22 Function_ .._ _ _ ___ _ _ _ _ _ It ...............__ _ 22 Censusagesandeher data 25 Censusenumerato 29 . # Attendance _ _ officers.... ......... _ a.e - - - 31 Selectibn andq cation 31 'Improvementin service 39 Number__ . ..... ____..........._______ 40 Salaries and cost of aN. GM IMO MD 41I attendance service. _ _ _ 41' . Reporting e truancy Ow ... _ . ..... _............. AO MD (11. am eNO 43 Whentruancy mustcease . 44 Penalties fornonenforcement 45 Courts ofjurisdiction_ 47 Organisation for attendanceservice........_ UM MN _ 48 State supervision of.schoolattendance 51 Alabama 52 Connecticut , 52 In 'OA ê. e IV CONTENTS SCHOOL ATTENDANCEREQUIREMENTSContinued. Provisions for administrationContinued. MO State supervision of schoolattendanceContinued. Page Indiana 53 New York _____________ 54 Pennsylvania_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ... 56 Summary and implications of sompulsoryschool attendance laws_____ __ _ _ __ ____________ .....4M 57 COINIPULSORY SCHOOLATTENDANCEPROVISIONSBYSTATES__ 65 ._. i . Alabama_ .. _....... _____ . _ ... _________ ....MD / 65 Arizona__ ..... _ ... _ _ - _ _ J- ....- - .... 66 1 Arkansas _ ...______ _ _ _ 67 Ji e California - - - - ... - . - 67 Colorado _ a.mOW .. .0 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ... _ 68 .. q...........e..... AM Connecticut SW 4M 69 Delaware - ... ..... _ 69 Distribt of Columbia_ _ _ _ ________ 70 Florida... ____ .... ____ 70 S. Georgia_M. ..., MO NW ,,,... 71 , Idaho _ ........ ... _. _ 72 Illinois__ ....... _ .. _ 72 Indiana_________________ ....... _____-_-_,. _ 73 Iowa..___ ___ __ __- ___ ,_, ... ........-- I *mop .=.... .. eft am ... 74 . Kansas 4. OM al ...... 74 Rentucky ___ 75 LouisianaLouisiana__ _ ___. .................-....___ _ 1M...ao10 _ 75 Maine_____-_, .__ e 76 Maryland_ _ _ __________ 76 , Mftssachusetts A.0 .=. ii 11. MP , ID mt _ 747 _____ Michigan__ ..__________,78 Minnesota_ _____ .... _ 79 Mississippi , ... _ _ .. ...... _ ... 79 . Missouri _ ..... ... MID MS 80 Montana ... .... _ ... _ _ _ ... _ _ .... 80 Nebraska_ __ _ _06 M. MED ND MID 81 Nevada ....... _ .. _ .. ... .. 82 New Hampshire_ _ ....... ________ .......... ____-_-_ ___ _ _ _4_ 83 New Jersey _ .....__AM M MD 1SilIIM 83 New Mexico__. ........ _ .... _ . ...... 84 New York 84 % 4 .___ ! North Carolina - 85 North Dakota _ :85 Ohio__ _ ....a _I ......_.. 86 L , _ - ___ _ _, Oklahoma . ...-., _ .86 . Oregon .. - ..... __. _ ...........__ ...... _ _ _ _ _ _ .... 874w Pennsylvania.::.......___... emmo .. .. to Baft am aso, .... 88 ___________ _ ________ _____ _____ _ ____- - RhAle Island 7 - - 89 Boei Carolina ____....., mo m aft. dia 89 : ..... .... ..... South Dakota.................... _Ow as. no ..... Ism Am M. IN, ..... 90 CONTENTS V COMPULSORY SCHOOLATTENDANCEPROVISIONSBYSTATES Continued. Page Tennessee iMrwpm= ...... 90 m. Texas____________ . _.......... ..... _ 91 Utah__ =11.....IM 91 Vermont__ 92 _ _awm.m. Virginia_ .... MD OD SW .m. ............ am qw OD 93 _ ____ _ _ , Washington S 93 . S6,- West Virginia 1 MP...__ _ .. ..... _ _ _ _............... _ 94 Wisconsin .....-.-_ _ .... _ _ _ _ _ : _ _ _ -, 95 Wyoming____ ___..... ____ .., . _.___. -.- _,-3 96 ., A r a .. .,. -do s O p. FOREWORD Since 1918 lws requiring schoolattendance have eiisted in all States of the Union.These laws hadtheir conception in the faith that education isessentialto th,e perpetuity of populargovernnient and sooial justice.This faith continues unabated.Although the problems ofnonschool attendance, together with child labor, donot exist to thesameextenta's gib formerly, they stillarein -need ofsolution.There isnow, perhapsmorethanatanyprevious time, widespreadopinion thata moresatisfactory solutionto the pralems relatingto school attendance will affordvital aid in solving other social problems. Numerous inquiries concerningschool-attendance laws in differentStates, educational requirements for laborper- e mits, their enforcement,ptc.,areaddessedto the Office of Education.This publication is designedtoanswerthese inquiries andto give information which will be helpfulto those who seek the further developmentorimproved adminis- tration of laws relatingto school attendance. BESS GOODYKOONTZI Assistant Commissionel . VII s. fte -10-v - stifr, O COMPULSORYSCHOOLATTENDANCE TAWSAND THEIRADMINISTRATION PURPOSE . HIS STUDYhas been prepared tohelpanswer ques- tions frequentlyasked regarding certainfeatures of the compulsoryschool attendancelaws in theseveral States,ascompulsory schoolages,exemptions provided, amountof attendancerequired, qualificatioriof attendance 0 . , officers,State supervisionofattendanceenforcement,and otherprovisions foradministering the attendancelaws. The legislativeenáctmentsoncértain features ofschool attendancearesummarized in the textandadigest ofsome of the featuresof the attendancelaw in each of theStates is appended. THEPROBLEMOF SCHOOLATTENDANCE MAGNITUDE OFNONATTENDA*E . Theideal of havingall the children öfelementary and secondaqschoolage(6 to 17,inclusive) attQnd schoolhas notbeenattained.According to the 1930United States Census, 4,173,951, or14.3 percent,of the 29,066,072Oildren 6 to17yearsofage werenotattendingschool.Of thenum- ber notattending school, 1,658,965, or39.7 percent, wereof elementaryschoolage(6 to 13,inclusive) and 2,514,986,or 60.3 percent, wereof high-schoolage(14 to 17,inclusive). Theforegoing figures,which showthe total numlerèf children 6 to 17 yearsofagenotin schoolIat all,donot presentthe entirepicture of theproblem of school attendance since theydo not takeinto account the averagedaily attend- anceof those whowereenrolled.Considering attendance in relation toenrollment in thepublic schools 4,413,129,or '17.2percint, of the 25,678,015children enrolledwereabsent eachchi)y.. Adding this number tothe numberofchildren notinsjchOo-1 at all, thegrandtótalnumber bf children not . 4 0/ 1 . .1 ..41:'. 0- .... .7:: I . 1 it .,... Iry W. r i ' I/ - le 1 . I I,. 4.- .. :. % ' b : '4''''.°"l.."-L-4.L-'-:::'"*:11.-5:-.-1.--14,-*1,-.-,=-i:-...--:+:..-Z,'4,-.(----,-'%-.",..."-!Z. -!-4:814-,:aor.bASIL. ilsdiL--,.'. -4.44--1-.4.:-----1.-^.;_c.....:"..1..-.,.....r.:.1....¡;,..t.....-... ...._....tp-,..;.......1r-.45.......,......,,.,1.__,....1. :.,..;,...,....--........L. 2 COMPULSORYSCHOOLAITENDANCE 'LAWS in schoolon any onedayduring°the school termwas8,587,080. This figure, however, is onlyapproximate, since the enrolh mentsand attendance in pzivate414liarochialschoolsare notincluded, and sincesomeof the childrepincluded in the averagedaily attendance figuresare5yearsofageandsome are18or more yearsof age; but it isplainly evident thata hugearmyof childrenareoutof schooleach dayin round, numbers 8,500,000, rir approximately 27.5 percent,of the school population 6 to 17yearsofage. :Thereareth'us evidentlytwo parts tothe problem of school attendanceone is that ofenrolling all the children of elementary an* secondaryschoolageand the other is that of keeping those enrolledin regular attendance. The first-named problemhas been solvedin large part for children of compulsory schoolattendanceage.Of the total number of children of the usualabsolute compulsoryattend- ance age,that is .theagewhereveryfew exemptionsare allowed (7to 13,inclusive), 95.3 percentof the total number 9f children of thisage group wereenrolled in schools, and 88.8 percentof the children 14and 15/-eatTsofagewhoare usually subject to the compulsoryattendance laws but who maybe exempd forreasonsin addition to those provided for children 7 to 13yearsofageweieattending school, while only66.3 percent ofthe children 6yearsofage)and only 57-.3 percent'of those 16 and 17 Years ofage wereenrolled. 4 If the compulsory school attendanceage wereextended to 18 thepercentage of children 16 and 17gearsofageattending school would doubtless be greatlyincreased.It is significant to note thatin the five States,Idato,Nevada, Ohio, Okla- homa, and Utah, in each of w,hich theuppercompulsory school attendanceagelimit with certain exemptions is 18, the percentage of children 16 and 17yearsofageWending school is muchhiglierthan theaveragefor the country, 57.3 percent: In jdaho, 72.3 percent of the children ofthese