HOUSE No. 2218 Che Commontoealth of Massachusetts House of Representatives, January 31, 1950. The committee on Public Welfare, to whom was re- ferred so much of the recommendations of the Department of Mental Health (House, No. 81) as relates to establish- ing in the city of Taunton a state school for the care of feeble-minded persons (accompanied by bill, House, No. 83), report the accompanying bill (House, No. 2218). For the committee, MARGARET L. SPEAR. 2 HOUSE —No. 2218. [Jan. Cl)t Commontocaltl) of C^assaclmsctts In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Fifty. An Act establishing the myles standish state school FOR THE CARE OF FEEBLE-MINDED PERSONS. 1 Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would 2 tend to defeat its purpose, which in part is to make 3 immediately effective the provisions therein con- -4 tained establishing a state school for the care of 5 feeble-minded persons, therefore it is hereby de- -6 dared to be an emergency law, necessary for the 7 immediate preservation of the public health and 8 convenience. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1 Section 1. There is hereby established in the city 2 of Taunton, for the care and custody of feeble-minded 3 persons the Myles Standish state school. Said school 4 shall be subject to all provisions of law applicable to 5 state schools under the control of the department of 6 mental health, except as hereinafter otherwise pro- -7 vided. 1 Section 2. Section sof chapter 19 of the General 2 Laws, as amended by section 3 of chapter 421 of the 3 acts of 1935, is hereby further amended by inserting 4 after the word “hospital”, the second time it appears 5 in line 10, the words: , Myles Standish state school, 1950.] HOUSE No. 2218. 3 6 —soas to read as follows: Section 5. The boards 7 of trustees of the following public institutions shall 8 serve in the department: Belchertown state school, 9 Boston psychopathic hospital, Boston state hospital, 10 Danvers state hospital, Foxborough state hospital, 11 Gardner state hospital, Grafton state hospital, Walter 12 E. Fernald state school, Medfield state hospital, Met- -13 ropolitan state hospital, Monson state hospital, Nor- -14 folk state hospital, Northampton state hospital, 15 Taunton state hospital, Westborough state hospital, 16 Worcester state hospital, Myles Standish state school 17 and Wrentham state school. 1 Section 3. Section 25 of chapter 123 of the Gen- -2 eral Laws, as amended by section 4 of said chapter 3 421, is hereby further amended by inserting after the 4 word “hospital”, the second time it appears in line words; so 5 10, the , Myles Standish state school, 6 as to read as follows:-— Section 25. The state insti- -7 tutions under the control of the department shall be 8 Worcester state hospital, Taunton state hospital, 9 Northampton state hospital, Danvers state hospital, 10 Grafton state hospital, Westborough state hospital, 11 Foxborough state hospital, Medfield state hospital, 12 Monson state hospital, Gardner state hospital, Wren- -13 tham state school, Boston state hospital, Walter E. 14 Fernald state school, Boston psychopathic hospital, 15 Belchertown state school, Metropolitan state hospital, 16 Norfolk state hospital, Myles Standish state school, 17 and such others as may hereafter be added by au- -18 thority of law. 1 Section 4. The appointments of trustees of the 2 Myles Standish state school shall be made in accord- -3 ance with the provisions of section six of chapter 4 HOUSE —No. 2218. [Jan. 4 nineteen of the General Laws, except that the initial 5 appointments of the members of the board of trustees 6 shall be so made by the governor, with the advice 7 and consent of the council, that the term of one such 8 member shall expire on the first Wednesday of Feb- -9 ruary in each year from nineteen hundred and fifty- -10 one to nineteen hundred and fifty-seven, both in- -11 elusive. 1 Section 5. Until the appointment and qualifica- -2 tion of trustees as aforesaid 3 (1) The Myles Standish state school shall be di- 4 rectly under the control of the director of the division 5 of Myles Standish of the department of mental health, 6 in accordance with the provisions of section three of 7 chapter one hundred and twenty-three of the General 8 Laws, until such time as the superintendent is ap- 9 pointed as prescribed in paragraph (3) of this section; 10 (2) Said department shall have and exercise all the 11 powers and duties in respect to said school which the 12 trustees of the several state schools under the control 13 of said department have and exercise in respect thereto, 14 and in respect to such school shall be subject to all 15 provisions of law applicable to trustees of such state 1(3 schools; and 17 (3) Said department shall appoint to and may re- -18 move from the service of said school:-— (a) a super- -19 intendent, who shall be a physician who is a diplomat 20 in psychiatry of the American Board of Psychiatry 21 and Neurology, Inc., as provided for in section 22 twenty-eight of chapter one hundred and twenty- -23 three of the General Laws, and said superintendent, 24 with the approval of the department, shall appoint 25 and may remove assistant physicians and necessary 26 subordinate officers and other employees; and (6) a 1960.] HOUSE No. 2218. 5 27 treasurer, who shall give bond for the faithful per- -28 formance of his duties. 1 Section 6. Section 45 of said chapter 123, as 2 amended by section 17 of chapter 486 of the acts of 3 1938, is hereby further amended by inserting after 4 the word “school”, the second time it appears in 5 line 2, the words; —-, the Myles Standish state school, 6 so as to read as follows: Section 4-5. The Walter 7 E. Fernald state school, the Belchertown state school, 8 the Myles Standish state school and the Wrentham 9 state school shall each maintain a school department 10 for the instruction and education of feeble-minded 11 persons who are within the school age or who in the 12 judgment of the superintendent are capable of being 13 benefited by school instruction, and a custodial de- -14 partment for the care and custody of feeble-minded 15 persons beyond the school age or not capable of being 16 benefited by school instruction. 1 Section 7. Section 46 of said chapter 123, as 2 amended by section 18 of said chapter 486, is hereby 3 further amended by inserting after the word “school” 4 in line 3 the words: , by the Myles Standish state 5 school, —so as to read as follows; Section 46. 6 Persons received by the Walter E. Fernald state 7 school, by the Belchertown state school, by the Myles 8 Standish state school and by the Wrentham state 9 school shall be classified in said departments, and the 10 superintendent may receive and discharge pupils, and 11 may at any time discharge any pupil or other inmate 12 and cause him to be removed to his home. 1 Section 8. Section 51 of said chapter 123, as 2 appearing in the Tercentenary Edition, is hereby 6 HOUSE —No. 2218. [Jan. 3 amended by inserting after the word “school”, the 4 second time it appears in line 3, the words: —, the 5 Myles Standish state school, —so as to read as 6 follows: Section 51. No person shall be com- -7 mitted to any institution for the insane designated 8 under or described in section ten, except the Walter 9 E. Fernald state school, the Belchertown state school, 10 the Myles Standish state school and the Wrentham 11 state school, unless there has been filed with the judge 12 a certificate in accordance with section fifty-three of 13 the insanity of such person by two properly qualified 14 physicians, nor without an order therefor, signed by a 15 judge named in the preceding section stating that he 16 finds that the person committed is insane and is a 17 proper subject for treatment in a hospital for the 18 insane, and either that he has been an inhabitant of 19 the commonwealth for the six months immediately 20 preceding such finding or that provision satisfactory 21 to the department has been made for his maintenance 22 or that by reason of insanity he would be dangerous 23 if at large. The order of commitment shall also au- -24 thorize the custody of the insane person either at the 25 institution to which he shall first be committed or at 26 some other institution to which he may be transferred. 27 Said judge shall see and examine the alleged insane 28 person, or state in his final order the reason why it 29 was not considered necessary or advisable so to do. 30 The hearing, unless a jury is summoned, shall Ire at 31 such place as the judge shall appoint. In all cases he 32 shall certify in what place the insane person resided 33 or was at the time of his commitment; or, if the 34 commitment is ordered by a court under section one 35 hundred or one hundred and one the court shall certify 36 in what place the insane person resided or was at the 1950.] HOUSE No. 2218, 7 37 time of the arrest upon the charge for which lie was 38 held to answer before such court.