f. Shall Act as Secretary State Board of Education.

He shall act

as secretary of the State Board of Education. He shall annotate and compile all school laws ordered published by the State Board of Education; and said compilation shall include all blank forms necessary to secure a uniformity of system in the administration of the school laws throughout the State.

g. He shall, whenever he may deem the same expedient, issue printed letters and circulars to school officers pertaining to any subject relative to the duties of teachers, directors, pupils, parents and guardians, the management of schools, and all other questions of general and special interest to the cause of education.

He shall

h. Shall Decide Cases Submitted to Him on Appeal. decide, without cost to the parties, all questions of doubt that may be submitted to him, and all disputes that may be appealed to him from the county school superintendents, concerning the proper administration of the school laws of this State and of the rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, and concerning the ministerial duties of school officers and teachers; but he may, in his discretion, submit any such question or dispute to the State Board of Education, who shall then decide the same. The State Superintendent, or the State Board of Education, may require the opinion, in writing, of the Attorney General concerning such questions or disputes, whose duty it shall be to give the same. The State Board of Education shall adopt reasonable rules of procedure to govern the submission of such questions, and the trials and appeals provided for in this act. The decision of the State Superintendent or of the State Board of Education, as herein provided, shall guide school officers and teachers in the discharge of their duties in respect to the matters so decided; but this section shall not be construed to deprive any person of his ordinary remedy in a court of competent jurisdiction.

i. Shall Hold State Teachers' Association. He shall, once in each year, cause to be held a State teachers' association, at such time and place as in his judgment will best promote the general interests of education.

j. Traveling Expenses. He shall make out, quarterly, a statement of the necessary traveling expenses incurred in the discharge of his duties, which claims shall be audited and paid as other claims against the State; provided, that such sum shall not exceed $900 per annum; provided, further, that every such claim shall be verified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and said Superintendent of Public Instruction shall receive no other salary or fees or perquisites for the performance of any duties required by

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law as said superintendent or member of any board. [L. O. L. § 3946.]

5. Biennial Reports-Subjects of. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall report to the legislative assembly, biennially, in the same manner and at the same time that other State officers

make their reports. His reports shall contain:

a. The general condition of the public schools of the State; b. The amount of school money apportioned among the several counties, and the sources whence such money was derived;

c. The amounts raised by county and district taxes, and the amounts paid for teachers' salaries, buildings, furniture, etc.;

d. The series of text-books authorized in accordance with the provisions of the law;

e. The rules and regulations prescribed by the State Board for the government of public schools;

f. The number and grade of the schools in each county;

g. The number of persons between the ages of four and twenty years, the number attending public schools, the number attending private schools, and the number not attending any school;

h. Any and all information that in his judgment may be useful to the public, and for the advancement of the educational interests of the State. [L. O. L. § 3947.]

6. (Validates existing teachers' certificates.) ***

7. Certificates Issued by Superintendent of Public Instruction. All certificates, except temporary county certificates and certificates in cities of over 100,000 inhabitants shall be issued by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. [L. 1911, Ch. 58, p. 86, § 2.] (Here follow 15 pp. of details as to the recently-instituted state examination system §§ 8-44.)

8. State Superintendent Shall Employ Agricultural Assistants. The State Superintendent of Public Instruction is hereby authorized to employ two assistants, whose duty it shall be to travel throughout the counties of the State and supervise and promote the development of industrial work in the public schools, including such subjects as agriculture, manual training and home economics, and promote industrial school fairs and school garden contests in conjunction with such instruction, under the direction of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and in coöperation with the said State Agricultural College; and, so far as practicable, in accordance with the views and wishes of the respective superintendents of public instruction of the several counties; and for the purpose of defraying the salaries and traveling expenses of such assistants, and other expenses incident to their work, there is hereby appropriated the sum of six thousand dollars ($6,000)

per annum ; the same to be paid out of any moneys in the general fund of the State not otherwise appropriated, commencing with the first day of January, 1913. [L. 1913, Ch. 110, p. 186, § 7.]

III. THE OFFICE OF STATE SUPERINTENDENT

[Extract from an article on "A Constitutional State Board of Education," by Reed, Thomas H.; in Sierra Educational News, January, 1913, pp. 19-21.]

The first great point of weakness in our system of educational administration is the method of selecting a State Superintendent of Public Instruction by popular vote. Such a man rarely employs the obvious influence of the place to do more than strengthen his own hold upon it. Popular election stands as an insuperable bar to the extension of the powers of the superintendent. The promotion of the efficiency of our rural schools absolutely demands that the superintendent possess regulatory instead of simply recommendatory powers over the work of such schools. Such a task requires genuine administrative ability and technical training, qualities which are not often found in company with the arts by which an educator commends himself to the managers of a great political party, or with the larger talent for self exploitation which is the only substitute for such managerial support. The superintendency in a great state requires years of experience, and ought to be the culmination of a successful career. The choice of superintendents should not be limited to the narrow field of California, but should be made from the country at large. All this is impossible if the place is filled by election. Real experts in good positions will not risk the chances of the wheel of politics. A citizen of New York, for example, cannot stand for election in California. It is a general principle of political science that experts cannot be chosen by election.

It would seem, therefore, that the Superintendent of Public Instruction should be appointed by some authority. This result will be reached in the course of the movement for a "short ballot " if it is not anticipated by educational reform. It is not unreasonable to urge that the superintendent should be appointed by the governor and that education should be made simply one of the departments of state government. There are, however, certain considerations which weigh very heavily against such a plan. Education is by very many times the most important branch of administration in the state, both as to the magnitude and multi

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tude of its activities. It is easily first in the amount of money expended, the number of persons employed and the proportion of the population directly affected. Over this vastest of public enterprises the superintendent of public instruction should exercise a great and positive control. From these facts flow two important conclusions. The first is that, under present political conditions, in a state where traditions of expert administration are by no means firmly established, it is unsafe to give the governor the appointment of an officer who is, or should be, so powerful. The temptation of such an easy opportunity to put the educational system of the state into "politics" might well prove too much for a weak or ambitious governor. The only protection, beyond this dubious one of the gubernatorial conscience, would be an enlightened public sentiment for expert service which is only just beginning to make itself felt in California. The mere fact that the present governor is honest and capable should not blind us to the possible action of his successors. The second conclusion is that the field of educational administration is so broad and involves so much that is technical and professional that the governor has not the time nor the training necessary for its successful supervision. He is by no means always capable of intelligently criticising the superintendent, and never could find the time for exercising this capability if he had it. Several months' service in the office of the most vigorous and active governor in the history of California has given the writer an intimate knowledge of the crowded life of the state executive. There is no time in his office for checking the conduct of a superintendent of public instruction.

The only alternatives would be election by the legislature or appointment by a state board of education. The first of these alternatives has against it every argument which might be employed against appointment by the governor, and many more. The comparative irresponsibility of the individual legislator makes it possible in that body to undertake political thuggery, which the worst governor would never even contemplate. We are left therefore, only the last alternative, appointment by the state board of education. This body, if properly constituted, might select a superintendent on a rational basis, and effectively criticise and control him after selection.

IV. STATE BOARDS OF EDUCATION

Type forms of organization and types of duties for such boards are here illustrated by selections from laws and con

stitutions. The first, from the Oregon laws, illustrates well the type of state board composed ex officio of state officials.

1. The Oregon State Board of Education

[From Oregon School Laws (1913), pp. 28-29.]

1. State Board, How Constituted. The Governor, Secretary of State, and Superintendent of Public Instruction shall constitute a State Board of Education. [L. O. L. § 3948.]

2. Meetings of Printing for. The meetings of the board shall be held semi-annually, at the State Capitol, on the first Monday in January and July. All needed stationery for the use of the board shall be furnished by the Secretary of State, and any printing authorized by the board shall be done by the State. Printer, at rates allowed by law for other State work. [L. O. L. § 3949.]

3. Powers Enumerated. The board shall have power:

a. Authorize Text-Books. To authorize such series of textbooks to be used in the public schools as shall be adopted by the text-book commission.

b. Prepare Course of Study. To prepare a State course of studies for grammar grade schools. The Secretary of State shall cause the courses of study to be printed, and the State Superintendent shall send copies of the same to the various county superintendents, who shall properly distribute them to the boards of directors of the several districts, for use in public school work.

c. Prescribe Rules. To prescribe a series of rules and regulations for the general government of public schools, and for the maintenance of discipline therein.

d. To use a common seal.

e. To order any printing that may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this act, said printing to be done by the State Printer. [L. O. L. § 3950.]

4. State Board Shall Indicate Sources for Questions on Theory and Practice. It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education to indicate, at least one year before any examination for a county certificate, the sources from which at least sixty per cent of the questions in theory and practice will be selected by said board for said examination. [L. O. L. § 3989.]

5. Publication of Proceedings. The proceedings of each session of the State Board of Education shall be published for general