act school boards in Connecticut are allowed to establish vocational guidance as part of the educational system and to employ vocation counsellors.

Montana's new school code makes it obligatory for school districts of 5,000 or more inhabitants to maintain at least one manual training school, to be taught by teachers holding special certificates from the State superintendent. In districts having 10,000 or more population special courses for direct vocational training must be established, to which pupils over 12 years of age who have completed the fifth grade may be admitted. Trustees are empowered to use money from the graded school fund for the maintenance of manual and industrial schools, and the State treasurer is directed to pay to districts maintaining such schools and to county high schools maintaining such courses $10 for each pupil in attendance six months.

Agricultural education is provided for in a number of special acts. Nebraska, Vermont, Tennessee, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan authorize county farm demonstration work in one form or another. A Washington law creates a bureau of farm development to work in the counties. Wisconsin authorizes county "agricultural representatives for the purpose of aiding in agricultural development," and will pay $1,000 annually to each county organizing such work. Kansas authorizes the county commissioners to establish a county demonstration farm. Colorado provides for the appointment by the county commissioners of a county agriculturist to study farm. management and to give instruction to farmers. Missouri authorizes the county courts to appropriate funds for a county farm advisor to act with the State college of agriculture in encouraging agricultural development. Wisconsin carries the short-course idea into her high schools, with courses of not less than 16 weeks' duration in not exceeding 20 high schools. The State contributes $200 per course. Michigan and Wyoming add agriculture to the list of subjects in which teachers are to be examined. Florida appropriates $1,500 annually for two years for the promotion of work in boys' corn clubs and girls' canning clubs. Iowa requires instruction in elementary agriculture in the public schools. In Texas one of the functions of the new farmers' county public libraries to be established is to employ a librarian "whose duty it shall be to gather information pertaining to agriculture, horticulture, and kindred subjects," and to make such information available to farmers.

A large number of minor enactments for the encouragement of Vocational education deserve mention. Nevada provided that the prescribed courses of study in the seventh and eighth grades should comprise "business forms and elementary bookkeeping or some features of industrial work, and in the high-school grades provision. for full commercial work and industrial work suitable for boys and

girls. The Wisconsin Legislature of 1913 increased from $50,000 to $100,000 the amount of State aid to free high schools maintaining courses in manual training, domestic economy, or agriculture; and granted an additional $100 to a district maintaining a graded school of the first or second class in which instruction is offered in agriculture and other industrial subjects. An amendment to the New York law empowers school boards to establish part-time and evening vocational courses; the length of term required for receiving State aid is reduced from 38 to 36 weeks. In Arizona the State is to pay a sum equal to one-half the amount provided by any school for the support of vocational training. Iowa gives the following aid to consolidated schools equipped with two or more rooms including industrial and vocational subjects in the course of study: Two-room building, $250 toward equipment and $200 annually; three-room building, $350 toward equipment and $500 annually; four or more rooms, $500 toward equipment and $750 annually.

MEDICAL INSPECTION AND HEALTH TEACHING.

Most of the current progress in school medical inspection and other phases of school hygiene is in the cities, and has come about independently of State legislation, except where special permissive laws are necessary for municipalities. In New York State, however, medical inspection has not only been made mandatory (ch. 627), but the mandatory section is made effective by the provision that the State commissioner of education may withhold public money from a district not complying with the law. The act further provides that school boards shall employ physicians as medical inspectors and may employ nurses. Pupils are required to furnish health certificates on entering school each year.

In Ohio a supplementary act includes teachers and janitors within the scope of examination by the school physician. The law provides that whenever a school child, teacher, or janitor is found to be ill or suffering from positive open pulmonary tuberculosis or other contagious disease "the school physician shall promptly send such child, teacher, or janitor home." If a teacher or janitor is found to be suffering from tuberculosis at the open stage, or any other communicable disease, his or her employment shall be terminated upon expiration of the contract, "or, at the option of the board, suspended upon such terms as to salary as the board may deem just until the school physician shall have certified to a recovery from such disease.

New Hampshire's medical inspection law is permissive (ch. 83). Any city, union, special, or town school district may adopt its provisions. School physicians must have had at least five years' medical experience. The law provides for medical examination every year of all pupils, teachers, janitors, and other employees, of school

buildings, grounds, and surroundings to such extent as the health of pupils may require. The teacher will refer the pupil who shows signs of ill health or disease to the parent or guardian for examination by some regularly registered physician. If the child is not so examined, he must be examined by the school physician. Special tests in vision and hearing are prescribed; the school physician is to have every child in the public schools carefully tested and examined. in the presence of the teacher at least once in every school year to ascertain whether he is suffering from defective sight or hearing

or from any other disability or defect tending to prevent his receiving the full benefit of his school work or requiring a modification of the school work in order to prevent injury to the child or to secure the best educational results.

Several of the 1913 laws relate to transmission of communicable disease, especially tuberculosis. The common drinking cup in schools is barred by a legislative act in Minnesota, West Virginia, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. As an aid to the fight against tuberculosis the New Hampshire State Board of Health is required to prepare bulletins on the cause and prevention of tuberculosis. The school board of every district in the State must furnish each teacher with sufficient copies for all the families in the district. An Ohio law provides for the appointment of one or more instructing and visiting nurses to visit any house or place in the county where there is a case of tuberculosis. In Wisconsin each county board of supervisors is authorized to appoint a graduate nurse to act as consulting expert on hygiene; one of her duties is to visit the schools to give instruction in the prevention of tuberculosis.

Other health measures of direct interest to the schools were the New Jersey law authorizing large cities "to make annual appropriations to incorporated dental associations which conduct and maintain dental clinics for the free treatment of indigent children" (ch. 291), and the Massachusetts act authorizing cities and towns to furnish meals free or at cost to school children. The latter provides thatthe city council of a city and the selectmen of a town may provide meals or lunches free or at such price, not exceeding the cost, as they may fix, for children attending its public schools, and cities and towns may appropriate money for this purpose.

The act must be approved by a majority of the voters in a community before going into operation.

WIDER USE OF THE SCHOOL PLANT.

The social center agitation resulted in definite constructive legislation in 1913. At least nine States passed laws recognizing explicitly the principle of wider evening use of school plants for social, intellectual, or recreational purposes. The laws of New York and New Jersey, which are practically identical, are typical of what is sought.

These laws specify five distinct purposes, other than the customary ones, for any or all of which school property may be used:

1. By persons assembling therein for the purpose of giving and receiving instruction in any branch of education, learning, or the arts.

2. For public library purposes or as stations of public libraries.

3. For holding social, civic, and recreational meetings and entertainments, and other uses pertaining to the welfare of the community.

4. For meetings, entertainments, and occasions where admission fees are charged, when the proceeds thereof are to be expended for an educational or charitable purpose. 5. For polling places for holding primaries and elections, for the registration of voters, and for holding political meetings.

Idaho authorizes school trustees to permit the use of schoolhouses "for community purposes"; Massachusetts enumerates "educational, recreational, social, civic, philanthropic, and similar purposes" as constituting permissible types of wider use activity; Indiana specifies that civic gatherings in schoolhouses must be nonpartisan. The Kansas acts appear to be somewhat different in tone-one authorizes school boards to open schoolhouses for the use of religious, political, literary, scientific, mechanical, or agricultural societies, or societies for the suppression of crime; a second law adds night schools and improvement associations to the list. The California law is both explicit and comprehensive. It provides for the

free use of all public schoolhouses and property for the establishment of a civic center at each and every public schoolhouse in the State, and the maintenance, conduct, and management of the same.

THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT.

Centralization of educational control and supervision within the States continue to be marked, as for several years, by growing recognition of the dignity, power, and responsibility of the State superintendent of public instruction, or whatever the designation may be in the separate States. One indication of this is the upward trend of salaries for chief State officers. In Maine the salary has been raised from $2,500 to $4,000; Wisconsin will hereafter pay her superintendent $5,000, and the assistant State superintendent $3,000; Minnesota, $4,500; West Virginia, $4,000; New Hampshire, not exceeding $4,000. In New Hampshire three deputy State superintendents are provided, at least one of whom shall be a woman.

In Delaware the legislature created the office of State commissioner of education. Although the salary ($2,000) is hardly commensurate with the importance of the work to be done, the step is generally recognized as in the right direction. In Minnesota the "State superintendent of education," as he is now designated, is to have a term of four years after 1915 instead of two, as heretofore. Two new duties. are imposed upon him-he is to prepare a uniform system of records

for all public schools and establish a uniform system of accounting, and he is to pass on plans and specifications for buildings and condemn unfit buildings (ch. 550). In Iowa the superintendent is to hold office by appointment from the governor instead of by popular election, and North Dakota's law of March 11, 1913, provides for nonpartisan nomination and election of both State and county superintendents.

HIGH SCHOOLS AND TEACHER-TRAINING.

One most important development in secondary education that is viewed differently by different observers is teacher-training in high schools. Originating in New York State, the plan has developed most rapidly in the Middle West. Nebraska now has 153 high schools engaged in training teachers; Kansas has 160; and Arkansas, which recently entered the field, has 15.

A recent Missouri law, designed to prepare teachers for elementary and rural schools, grants State aid to the amount of $750 annually to approved high schools and academies maintaining teacher-training courses. Not more than $1,200 is to be distributed to any one county; $100,000 has been appropriated to carry out the provisions of this act. The Kansas Legislature appropriated $125,000 annually for two years to high schools maintaining manual training courses. Minnesota increased the amount of State aid to teachers' training departments from $750 to $1,000 by act of April 12, 1913. Even Wisconsin, with adequate county normal schools, has made provision for teachers' training courses in free high schools in counties that are without county training schools. In the East, Vermont also provided during the year for training teachers in high schools for the benefit of rural schools. High schools and academies of the first class are authorized to establish such courses under the direction and approval of the State board of education.

TEACHERS' PENSIONS.

Four States established pension systems during the legislative year 1912-13-Massachusetts, California, North Dakota, and Maine. The Massachusetts system was adopted after a very careful survey of pension systems in the United States and abroad. It is considered by some observers to be the best in respect to scientific insurance principles yet adopted.

The law goes into effect July 1, 1914. All teachers who enter the service for the first time after that date must become members of the Teachers' Retirement Association. Teachers now in service may become members. Principals, supervisors, and superintendents are

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