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what purpose and to whom given.

Before adjournment of each annual meeting the director shall read the minutes of the meeting and have the same corrected and approved by a majority vote of the meeting.

In order legally to pay the school district officers a salary, it is necessary that provisions for such payment be made at the annual district meeting; but it is not within the authority of the annual meeting to make provision for the payment of such salary for more than the ensuing year,

6777 Sec. 78. Post notices. He shall give the prescribed notice of the annual district meetings, and all such special meetings as he shall be required to give notice of, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, one copy of which for each meeting shall be posted on the outer door of the schoolhouse, if there be one.

6778 Sec. 79. Orders on treasurer. He shall draw and sign all orders upon the treasurer for all moneys to be disbursed by the district, and all warrants upon the county treasurer for moneys raised for district purposes, or apportioned to the district by the county superintendent, and present the same to the moderator, to be countersigned by him, and no warrant shall be issued until so countersigned. No warrant shall be countersigned by the moderator until the amount for which the warrant is drawn is written upon its face. The moderator shall keep a record, in a book furnished by the ditrict, of the amount, date, purpose for which drawn, and name of person to whom issued, of each warrant countersigned by him.

It is the duty of the district director to issue orders upon the county treasurer in favor of the district treasurer for money on hand in the county treasury, in order that the district indebtedness and current expenses may be properly paid. In case the director refuses without sufficient reason to issue such orders upon the county treasurer, he may be compelled to do so by mandamus proceedings in the district court. See 22 Neb., 52.

School district orders are subject to same defense against a bona fide holder for value as against the payee. 4 Neb., 359. Cited 19 Id., 564. 32 Id., 370. A writ of mandamus cannot issue to the treasurer of a school district requiring payment by him of an order payable by its terms at a fixed time in the future and in the meantime drawing interest at a rate per centum defined by the terms of the order itself. 39 Id., 570. Moderator must countersign all proper orders. 35 Neb., 655.

The school board has no authority to draw and accept orders on a fund which the distict has proposed, but not yet raised. 4 Neb., 360.

6779 Sec. 80. Annual report. The director shall, within ten days after the annual district meeting, deliver to the county superintendent, to be filed in his office, a report under oath, showing the whole number of children belonging to the district between the ages of five and twenty-one years according to the census taken aforesaid; and any district board neglecting to take the enumeration and make a return of the same shall be liable to the district for all school moneys which such district may lose by such neglect. Within ten days after the annual district meeting, the director shall report to the county superintendent, to be filed in his office a report under oath, showing:

1st. The number attending school during the year under five, and also the number over twenty-one years of age.

2d.

The whole number that have attended school during the year. 3d. The whole number in the district between the ages of eight and fourteen years, inclusive.

4th. The whole number in the district between the ages of eight and fourteen years inclusive, that have attended school not less than twelve weeks during the school year.

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5th. The length of time the school has been taught during the year by a qualified teacher, the length of time taught by each teacher, and the wages paid to each.

6th. The total number of days all pupils between the ages of five and twenty-one years have attended school during the year.

7th. The amount of money received from the county treasurer during the year, and the amount of money expended by the district during the year. The number of mills levied for all school purposes.

8th.

9th.
10th.

of books.

11th.

12th.

The kind of books used in the school.

Number of children to whom text-books are furnished, and kinds

The amount of bonded indebtedness.

Such other facts and statistics as the superintendent shall direct The penalty incurred by a failure to report correctly the items in the first paragraph of this section applies equally to the others. Should the director not send in a complete report, it is the duty of the county superintendent to return it for correction. The report must be made under oath. See section (3242) 10, Chapter 32.

6780 Sec. 81.

Statement-valuation-taxes.-It shall be the duty of the director to furnish, for the use of the annual meeting of each year, a statement of the aggregate assessed valuation of all property in the district, and the amount of taxes, as near as may be, that will be collected for the use of the district.

6781 Sec. 82. Board-quorum.-The moderator, director, and treasurer shall constitute the district board, and in all meetings of the board two members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Meetings of the board may be called upon the agreement of two members, but all members shall have notice of the time and place of meeting.

A contract entered into and signed by persons styling themselves as director and moderator of a school district is their individual contract and not binding on the district. 4 Neb., 254. The action of a majority of the board will not bind the district without notice to or participation therein of the other members. Id.

A contract with a teacher is an exception to this rule. 13 Neb., 69. 35 Id., 655.

6782 Sec. 83. Report of taxes voted. Immediately after the annual district meeting, and not later than the first Monday in July, the board shall

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make and deliver to the county superintendent, and also to the county clerk of each county in which any part of the district is situated, reports in writing under their hands, of all taxes voted by the district during the current school year, to be levied on the taxable property of the district, and to be collected by the county treasurer at the same time, and in the same manner as the state and county taxes are collected; and when collected, to be paid over to the treasurer of the proper district on the order of the director, countersigned by the moderator of the district. It shall be the duty of the county clerk to levy such taxes, if voted according to law.

Taxes were voted by a district while comprising three townships. Before the levy 2 townships were detached. Held, Taxes should be levied on the district as it existed at the time of the levy. 9 Neb., 336. But where such taxes were leved in the district as it existed at the time they were voted and collected from property therein; held, that the new district could recover from the old the amount collected in its territory. Id. When a district board refuses to act, it may be compelled to perform its lawful duties by a writ of mandamus. 11 Neb.,

359.

6783 Sec. 84. General management.—The district school boards shall have the general care of the schools, and shall have the power to cause pupils to be taught in such branches and classified in such grades or departments as may seem best adapted to a course of study which the school boards of any county shall establish by the consent and advice of the county superintendent thereof, and the school board of each district shall cause a record of the advancement in each branch of study of all the pupils to be kept in a book provided for this purpose; and it is hereby made the duty of each district board, or of one of their number empowered by the board, to attend all meetings called by the county superintendent for the purpose of adopting or revising a course of study for the advancement of district schools, or making rules and regulations as they may think necessary for the government and health of the pupils, and of devising such means as may seem best to secure regular attendance and progress of children at school..

*(a) If it is the wish of a large majority of the patrons of the district that a foreign language be taught, the board would have authority to allow this to be a part of the course of study. A foreign language should not be used as the medium of instruction in other branches, but may be studied simply as a language.

The parent has a right to make a reasonable selection of the studies he desires his child to pursue from the course prescribed by the district board, and this selection must be respected by the trustees, as the right of the parent in this regard is superior to that of the trustees and the teacher. 31 Neb., 552.

†(b) Our statutes confer upon the school board the power "to make such rules and regulations as they may think necessary for the government of the scholars." This grant of authority includes the right to require excuses for absence and tardiness. It ought to be remembered, however, that very much depends upon the manner of enforcement of such a rule. A regulation harmless and proper in itself might be enforced in such a way as to render it exceedingly obnoxious and almost unendurable to parents and pupils. If a certain rule is beneficial to the school, it ought not to be difficult to convince parents of its usefulness; for certainly no one is more interested in the welfare of the school than the parents who entrust their children to its instruction and discipline. Attendance rules should be enforced with the greatest courtesy and consideration, and they will encounter no serious opposition from the parents for the benefit of whose 'children they are intended.

It seems quite reasonable that, after the last primary class is once fairly started, no pupils should be permitted to enter the school unless they can pursue the studies of some class already formed; otherwise the one or two who enter later will require as much time and attention from the teacher as would an entire class. As a rule, pupils who are too young to enter the lowest existing class will lose very little by waiting until the beginning of the next term. In fact, in most cases, it would be better for them to do so. Such a regulation seems, therefore, to be proper and reasonable and within the power of the district board; and to secure the sympathy and co-operation of the people, it ought to meet with no resistance.

The school trustees have authority to classify and grade the scholars in the district and cause them to be taught in such departments as they may deem expedient; they may also prescribe the courses of study and text books for the use of the school, and such reasonable rules

Decisions which apply only to rural and village schools. †Decisions which apply to all school districts.

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and regulations as they may think needful. They may also require prompt attandence, respectful deportment and diligence in study. The parent, however, has a right to make a reasonable selection from the prescribed courses of study for his child to pursue, and this selection must be respected by the trustees, as the right of the parent in that regard is superior to that of the trustees and the teacher. 31 Neb., 552.

The district school board is specially invested by the statutes with the general care and management of the school and the employment of teachers; and, as an incident to these powers, has a right to discharge a teacher for incompetency, or for any other sufficient cause, at the will and pleasure of a majority of its members. Maxwell J., dissenting. (Bays vs. State, 6 Neb., 167.)

The board may discharge a teacher who, for any cause, is found incompetent. 6 Neb., 173. Cited 31 Id., 552.

There is no express statute in this state making vaccination compulsory or imposing it as a condition upon the privilege of attending our public schools, neither have we a supreme court decision bearing upon this particular point. Our supreme court has decided, however, that a school board has the power to adopt and enforce appropriate and reasonable rules and regulations for the government and management of the school under its control. The ques tion of the right of a school board to exclude pupils from school if they are not vaccinated has been passed upon by the supreme court of Michigan. The decision rendered is to the effect that a standing rule prohibiting unvaccinated pupils from attending school could not be established, though temporarily during an epidemic the board may exclude persons who have not been vaccinated. The supreme court of Indiana has held that a local board of health has power to require that no unvaccinated child be allowed to attend the public school during the continuance of a threatened smallpox epidemic.

Under the existing statutes of Nebraska and in the light of these supreme court decisions, it is the ruling of this department that a standing rule prohibiting unvaccinated pupils from attending school could not be enforced, though temporarily during an epidemic of smallpox, the board may exclude persons who have not been vaccinated.

6784 Sec. 85.

Non-resident pupils.-The board may also admit to the district school non-resident pupils, and may determine the rates of tuition of the pupils and collect the same in advance, but no tuition shall be charged such children as are or may be by law allowed to attend the school without charge.

Under the statutes of Nebraska (section 3, 678 C. S., 1905), the minority of a female child ends at the age of eighteen years. Where a woman between eighteen and twenty-one years of age elects in good faith to make her residence in a certain school district, and does actually reside therein, she has the right to free school privileges in said district.

Children of school age are entitled to free school privileges only in the district in which their parents, or the ones standing in the relation of parents, or legal guardians make their legal residence. To be a legal guardian one must have been so recognized by a court of proper jurisdiction, with such guardianship made a matter of record by the court. The supreme court has decided that: The father of a child of school age, or one standing in loco parentis to the child, may maintain an action to compel the directors of a school. district to allow the child to attend school in the district where the child is a bona fide resident. Where a child of school age is wrongfully denied admission to the public school of a district, an injunction may properly issue to restrain the directors of a school from interfering with his attendance. Commissioners' Opinion, Department No. 3, Nebraska Reports (Herdman,) Vol. II., 1901-1902, pages 238-242. The court in expounding this ruling said: "Where a child with the consent of his parents goes to live in the family of another as a member of the family and under an agreement that that is to be his home, and that he is to be cared for and provided with school facilities, he becomes a bona fide resident of the district where living, and the person with whom he resides occupies the relation of a parent, stands in loco parentis, and may demand for him every right to which his own son is entitled."

A person who graduates from the public schools of Nebraska does not lose his privilege of attending school by reason of his graduation. He has a right to continue the same studies in the same school and will have the same privileges as the school guarantees to other pupils in the matter of text books, etc., providing no separate classes are required for his instruction. The residence of a pupil is usually with his parents, if living, but may be elsewhere. Children sent into the district just to board and attend school are not residents.

6785 Sec. 86. Suspension of pupils. They may authorize or order the suspension or expulsion from the school, whenever in their judgment the interests of the school demand it, of any pupil guilty of gross misdemeanors or persistent disobedience, but such suspension shall not extend beyond the close of the term.

This section gives school boards authority to suspend pupils. There is no law for referring such questions to a special district meeting, and it will save acrimony if the board, after consulting with the teacher or teachers, will settle all such matters with the least possible public disturbance.

The right to suspend or expel vests in the board, but may be exercised by the teacher in emergencies, with immediate reference to the board for final action.

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The statute empowers the school district board to suspend or expel pupils from the school, and it also provides that "such suspension shall not extend beyond the close of the term. The expression "term" is not defined in the statutes. In the absence of any definition on the part of the board, the word term would naturally apply to the entire period during which school is in session during the school year. But where the school district board has made and adopted a series of rules by which the school year is divided into specific terms, the board would have no authority to suspend a pupil for a period extending beyond the close of the current term as defined in said rules.

Control of pupils outside of school hours.-Let us divide the question at issue into two parts; first, the teacher's authority over pupils on the way to and from school; and second, his authority over pupils at other times and places than in school, on school grounds, on the way to and from school, or during school hours. The laws of Nebraska do not touch directly upon the matter of the teacher's authority over pupils on the way to and from school. Several decisions of different supreme courts, however, seem to indicate that where there is no statutory provision to the contrary, the teacher may exercise a reasonable control over pupils on the way to and from the schoolhouse in all matters of conduct which affect the interest and discipline of the school. This authority must be exercised with great discretion on the part of the teacher, and he will be liable for any flagrant perversion or abuse of it. The teacher stands in the place of the parent at school and has the same jurisdiction over the conduct of the pupil there that the parent has at home. It seems to be a simple deduction from this principle that the teacher has authority over the pupils at all times when they are thrown together in consequence of their attendance at school, and it would be very disastrous to school discipline if the teacher were denied a reasonable control over the actions of the pupils on the way to and from the schoolhouse. This right, therefore, seems to belong to the teacher by implication without any express statement of law to that effect.

For acts committed in or about the homes of the pupils, it would avoid a source of much trouble and irritation if the teacher would consult with the parents, reasoning with them, if they are reasonable, and parents usually are when the facts are fairly stated and they see that some action is necessary for the good of their own children. Teachers should not be arbitrary or dictatorial.

It has long been the ruling of this department that a teacher has the legal right to detain pupils after the regular school hours, when circumstances make it necessary.

Corporal punishment.-The statutes of Nebraska are silent as to the right of a teacher to inflict corporal punishment, and the matter seems never to have been brought before our supreme court; but the holdings of supreme courts of other states are quite uniform and positive in the matter, and are in substance as follows: A teacher in charge of a school stands in the place of the parent while the pupils are under his or her control and has the same right to command and to enforce obedience which the parent has in the home. This right includes the infliction of corporal punishment in a reasonable manner and with the proper motive. If it can be shown that the punishment was cruel or excessive or inflicted with malice on the part of the teacher, then such teacher is liable to prosecution and punishment. As a matter of educational policy, there is no question that corporal punishment is to be used only as a last resort; and our best teachers almost invariably succeed in avoiding it. Nevertheless there are cases, growing out of unusual perversity or unfortunate influences at home, which make its use advisable and sometimes even indispensable. While the constant aim of the teacher and school board should be to reduce the use of this method of discipline to a minimum, there can be no question as to the legal right of the board to authorize, and of the teacher to employ, corporal punishment, under proper circumstances, in the proper manner and with the proper motive.

The law empowers a school board to suspend or expel a pupil from school who is guilty of gross misdemeanors or persistent disobedience, whenever in their judgment the interests of the school demand it; but such suspension shall not extend beyond the close of the term. In case of emergency the teacher may suspend a pupil and refer his actions and the reasons therefor immediately to the board.

School boards are empowered to make rules governing their schools. to admit a pupil who has been expelled they have a perfect right to do so.

If they see fit

"An action of mandamus will lie and may be maintained to reinstate a pupil in a school if the action of the officer or officers by which the party was refused admission to or continuance in the school was an arbitrary or capricious exercise of authority." 57 Neb., 183.

6786 Sec. 87. Procure site and house. They shall purchase or lease such site for a school house as shall have been designated by the district, in the corporate name thereof, and shall build, hire, or purchase the schoolhouse out of the fund provided for that purpose, and shall make sale and conveyance of any site or other property of the district, when lawfully directed by the qualified voters at any annual or special meeting.

Subject to certain restrictions, the qualified electors of school districts are intrusted with the power to determine what sort of a schoolhouse shall be erected, and the extent of the expenditures therefor; and when so determined the school board has no authority to change the same, and thus bind the district for an increased expenditure.

It

It is within the authority of the school board to make temporary arrangements for carrying on the school whenever this matter is neglected at the annual district meetings. The school board should rent a building and pay. for the same out of the funds of the district. is not only a right but it would be a duty incumbent on the school board, to so provide room and teachers for the pupils of the district.

Building Committee 45 Neb., 239.