THE PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM. An Act to revise and consolidate the laws relating to public instruction and primary schools, and to repeal all statutes and acts contravening the provisions of this act. [Act 164, P. A. 1881.] The People of the State of Michigan enact: CHAPTER I. THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION. instruction instruction English (19) § 5641. SECTION.1. The superintendent of public Superintendinstruction shall have general supervision of general instruc-ent of public tion in all public schools and in all state institutions that are to supervise educational in their character, as follows: The university, in certain inthe agricultural college, the institution for the deaf and stitutions. dumb, (a) the school for the blind, (a) the state industrial school for boys, the state industrial home for girls, the state public school for dependent and neglected children, and the home for the feeble-minded, and any similar institution that may hereafter be created: Provided, That all instruction from Proviso, inthe first to the eighth grade inclusive in those subjects re- struction in quired for an eighth grade diploma, in all the schools of this language. state, public, private, parochial, or in connection with any state institution named above, shall be conducted in the English language; but this provision shall not be construed as applying to the high school course of any school district of this state maintaining a legal high school as defined in act number sixty-five of the public acts of nineteen hundred nine, as amended, nor to the high school course of any institution or corporation which maintains the same grades in its high school as are maintained in the legal high schools of this state; nor shall this provision be construed as prohibiting religious instruction in private or parochial schools given in any language in addition to the regular course of study. He shall reside at the seat of the state government and shall Residence devote his entire time to the duties of his office. He shall be of superina graduate of a university, college or state normal school of good standing, and shall have had at least five years' experience as a teacher or superintendent of schools. His duties Duties. shall be as follows: tendent. (a) To visit the state institutions mentioned above and Visit state meet with the governing boards thereof from time to time; (b) To direct the supervision of county normal training classes and provide general rules for their management and control; (c) To require all boards of education to observe the laws relating to schools, and he shall have authority to compel such observance by appropriate legal proceedings instituted in courts of competent jurisdiction by direction of the attorney general; (a) Declared to be public schools by Act 148, P. A. 1917. institutions. Audit of accounts, etc. Statutory term of school. Annual report. Teachers' institute. May request removal of certain officers. Power to remove from office. (d) To examine and audit the official records and accounts of any school district, and require corrections thereof when necessary, and to require an accounting from the treasurer of any school district when necessary; (e) To require all school districts to maintain school or provide educational facilities for all children resident in such district for at least the statutory period; (f) To prepare annually, and transmit to the governor, to be by him transmitted to the legislature at each biennial session thereof, a report containing a statement of the general educational conditions of the state; a general statement regarding the operation of the several state educational institutions and all incorporated institutions of learning; to present plans for the improvement of the general educational system if in his judgment it is deemed necessary; the report shall also contain the annual reports and accompanying documents of all state educational institutions so far as the same may be of public interest, and tabulated statements of the annual reports of the several school officers of the townships and cities of the state, and any other matter relating to his office which he may deem expedient to communicate to the legislature; (g) To appoint a time and place and proper instructors for state teachers' institute and for institutes in the several counties of the state, and make such rules and regulations for their management as he may deem necessary; (h) He may request the governor to remove from office any county commissioner of schools or member of the board of school examiners when he shall be satisfied from sufficient evidence submitted to him that said officer does not possess the qualifications required by law entitling him to hold the office, or when he is incompetent to execute properly the duties of the office, or has been guilty of official misconduct, or of wilful neglect of duty, or of drunkenness. In case said superintendent shall determine the charges submitted to him are well founded he shall file with the governor a statement in writing showing the specific and definite charge or charges made against the officer complained of, and also a statement that he believes the charges to be true, and that in his opinion the case demands investigation, which statement shall take the place of the statement of the prosecuting attorney of the county in which said officer is acting; whereupon the governor shall proceed to investigate the case as the statute provides; (i) The superintendent of public instruction shall have power and is hereby required to remove from office, upon satisfactory proof and after at least ten days' notice to the party implicated, any member of any school board except city school districts who shall have illegally used or disposed of any of the public moneys entrusted to his charge, or who shall persistently and without sufficient cause refuse or neglect to discharge any of the duties of his office, and in case of such removal it shall be the duty of the said state superintendent to have recorded in the office of the township clerk of such township the resolution or order for such removal, and such record of such resolution or order so entered or a certified copy thereof shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and places of jurisdiction of the regularity of such proceedings for removal, and said state superintendent shall file a similar copy of the proceedings in the records of his office: Provided, That if the party so removed shall within thirty days after such removal institute proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction for the setting aside of such order for removal from office, or if after said thirty days such proceedings to obtain such removal shall be discontinued or dismissed, the said order for removal from office shall stand and not be subject to attack by any legal proceedings thereafter: Provided further, That when an officer is removed for cause he shall not again be elected or appointed to said office for a period of at least five years thereafter; (j) To do all things necessary to promote the welfare of To promote the public schools and public educational institutions and pro- welfare. vide proper educational facilities for the youth of the state. From and after the first day of July, nineteen hundred nine, the salary of the superintendent of public instruction shall be four thousand dollars per annum, which shall be paid monthly out of the general fund in the state treasury upon the warrant of the auditor general in the same manner as the salaries of other state officers are paid. Am. 1919, Act 402. See Act 28, P. A. 1921, (sec. 690), as to salary of superintendent of public instruction. As to superintendent of public instruction, see Const., section 4, of this compilation. See Act 302, P. A. 1921, (secs. 279-94), giving the superintendent of public instruction supervision over private, denominational and parochial schools. (20) § 5642. SEC. 2. In order to organize the work of Deputy superthe department of public instruction and assist the superin- intendent. tendent in the performance of his duties in supervising public education, he may appoint a deputy superintendent of public instruction whose educational qualifications shall be the same as those required of the superintendent of public instruction, who shall take the constitutional oath of office which shall be filed with the secretary of state. Said deputy Duties. shall assist the superintendent in the performance of his duties and he may execute the duties of the office of superintendent in case of a vacancy or in the absence of the superintendent. The salary of the deputy superintendent shall Salary. be two thousand five hundred dollars per annum. The salary of the deputy superintendent shall be paid from the general fund, upon a warrant of the auditor general, in the same manner that the salaries of other state officers are paid: Pro- Proviso, vided, That the superintendent of public instruction may also assistant appoint two assistant superintendents, who shall perform tendents. such duties as the superintendent of public instruction shall prescribe. The salaries of the assistant superintendents shall Salaries, be twenty-one hundred dollars per annum, and such salaries superin Tax clause. Rules and regulations, who to make. Books, lists of. Apportionment of primary school fund, etc. how drawn. shall be paid from the general fund, upon a warrant of the auditor general, in the same manner that the salaries of other state officers are paid. The superintendent of public instruction may revoke any of said appointments in his discretion. There is hereby appropriated out of the general fund in the state treasury a sufficient amount to carry out the provisions of this act. The auditor general shall add to and incorporate in the state tax for the year nineteen hundred seventeen and every year thereafter a sufficient amount to reimburse the general fund for the amounts appropriated by this act. Am. 1917, Act 22. (21) § 5643. SEC. 3. The superintendent of public instruction may prepare and have printed general rules and regulations for the management of township and district libraries, and shall prepare and have printed a course of study for the district schools of the state, which shall be pursued in all district schools in the state, except city school districts, and he shall transmit all these documents to the several school officers entrusted with the care and management of the public schools. With the co-operation of the state librarian, he shall prepare, at least once in every two years, lists of books suitable for township and district libraries, and furnish copies of such lists to each township and school officer entrusted with the care and custody of their respective libraries, except city school libraries, and high school libraries, from which lists the said school officers shall select and purchase books for their respective libraries. (22) § 5644. SEC. 4. He shall in the year nineteen hundred twelve, and annually thereafter on receiving notice from the auditor general of the amounts thereof and between the fifth and fifteenth days of July apportion the primary school interest fund among the several townships and cities of the state in proportion to the number of children in each between the ages of five and twenty years as the same shall appear by the reports of the several township clerks made to him for the school year closing in July of the preceding year, and shall prepare a statement of the amount in the aggregate payable to each county, and shall deliver the same to the Warrant for, auditor general, who shall thereupon draw his warrant upon the state treasurer in favor of the treasurer of each county for the amount payable to each county. He shall also send written notices to the clerks of the several counties of the amount in the aggregate to be disbursed in their respective counties, and the amount payable to the townships and cities therein respectively. The primary school interest fund payable under the law now existing shall be apportioned and paid between the first and tenth days of November, nineteen hundred eleven: Provided, That, if any deficiency shall be caused in, the teachers' wages fund in any school district by the changing of the date of the apportionment of the primary school interest fund by the superintendent of public instruction, the school board or board of education of said district Notice to county clerks. Proviso. shall have authority first to borrow on the warrant of the district a sum sufficient to meet such deficiency or, second, to borrow and issue bonds of the school district for the sum of such deficiency for a period not to exceed five years. Where the superintendent of public instruction directed the payment of the apportionment of funds to one of the four districts of the township, the direction for payment of the funds followed the same into the hands of the township treasurer, and no other or further apportionment was necessary or could be made by the township clerk, who was powerless to alter or modify the action of the superintendent of public instruction.-Moiles v. Watson, 60/415. The assessor of the district, to whom the money was paid, being assessor de facto, the question of whether or not he was also assessor de jure could not be raised in this case.-Id. It has from the beginning been the policy of this state to maintain its primary schools for the education of children within school age, and to that end it has always caused to be set aside certain revenues, which, by statute are apportioned to the several counties according to the number of children residing in each county within the age limit, "as the same shall appear by the reports of the several school boards or school inspectors made" for that purpose.-Muskegon Public Schools v. Wright, 176/6, 12. defective (23) § 5645. SEC. 5. Whenever the returns from any Proceedings county, township, city, or district, upon which a statement in case of of the amount to be disbursed or paid to any such county, returns. township, city, or district shall be so far defective as to render it impracticable to ascertain the share of primary school interest fund which ought to be disbursed or paid to such county, township, city, or district, he shall ascertain by the best evidence in his power the facts upon which the ratio of ' such apportionment shall depend, and shall make the apportionment accordingly. (24) § 5646. SEC. 6. Whenever any county, township, when deficity, or district, through failure or error in making the proper tiene pe ciency apporreport, shall fail to receive its share of the primary school next year. interest fund, the superintendent of public instruction, upon satisfactory proof that said county, township, city, or district was justly entitled to the same, shall apportion such deficiency in his next apportionment; and whenever it shall appear to the satisfaction of said superintendent that any district has had three months' school, but failed to have the full time of school required by law, through no fault or negligence of the district or its officers, he may include such district in his apportionment of the primary school interest fund in his discretion. of superin (25) § 5647. SEC. 7. The superintendent of public in- Other duties struction shall perform such other duties as are or shall be tendent. required of him by law, and at the expiration of his term of office deliver to his successor all property, books, documents, maps, records, reports, and all other papers belonging to his office, or which may have been received by him for the use of his office. CHAPTER II. FORMATION, ALTERATION, MEETINGS, AND POWERS OF DISTRICTS. each Township into board, time in division may districts. authority of, of school |