most inadequate beginnings in the task of equalizing educational opportunities among their various local school districts. It is apparent, therefore, that if the general aid for elementary and secondary schools is to be expended for the purpose for which appropriated, to assist in equalizing educational opportunities "among States and within States," some provision such as that quoted is imperative.

The provision is general in character and will present no difficulty to any State willing to accept and use the funds for equalization. The required plan is limited to apportionment alone; it may be provided by direct enactment of the State legislature, or the legislature may delegate preparation of the plan to the State educational authority.

The bill also contains provisions with respect to the custody of the funds, reports of expenditures and of the progress of education, and auditing. If there is failure to make required reports, or if funds are lost or illegally expended, payments may be suspended by the Secretary of the Treasury, on certificate by the Commissioner of Education after notice and hearing.

The powers of the Commissioner of Education under the bill are so limited that it is difficult to see how he could exert control over State and local educational policies even in the event that he should desire to do so. In order, however, that there may be no doubt as to the intent of the bill with respect to the autonomy of the States and their local school jurisdictions, the bill contains specific prohibitions as to things that shall not be done.

Section 2 provides that "The provisions of this Act shall * * * be so construed as to maintain local and State initiative and responsibility in the conduct of education and to reserve explicitly to the States and their local subdivisions" the following matters:

The control over the processes of education.

The control and determination of curricula of the schools.

The methods of instruction to be employed in them.

The selection of personnel employed by the State and its agencies and local school jurisdiction.

The American people would rightly object to any attempt to use Federal aid to education as a means of controlling the content or processes of education in the schools. A careful reading of the present bill will make it plain that it has been drafted with a totally different objective. The bill porvides aid where it is needed and it provides adequate safeguards to assure the honest and legal expenditures of the funds in conformity with the purposes for which appropriated. At the same time, it avoids giving discretion to Federal administrative officials, and specifically prohibits undesirable activities on their part in fields where it is of the utmost importance to maintain the autonomy of the States.

The CHAIRMAN. The hearing will stand in recess until 2 o'clock this afternoon.

(Whereupon at the hour of 12 o'clock noon a recess was taken until 2 p. m. of the same day.)

AFTERNOON SESSION

Pursuant to the recess, the committee resumed the hearing on S. 1313 at 2 p. m.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Sidney B. Hall?

STATEMENT OF SIDNEY B. HALL, STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, RICHMOND, VA.

The CHAIRMAN. Will you please state your name, title, and any other information which you wish to put into the record?

Mr. HALL. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I am Sidney B. Hall, superintendent of public instruction, State of Virginia, and chairman of the legislative commission of National Education. Association.

Since several witnesses have already appeared before the committee I do not think it is necessary for me to repeat many of the things that have been said which I had contemplated saying. Therefore, instead

of repeating them I want to emphasize about three main points with reference to this Senate bill 1313.

It seems to me that this particular bill, while it is the culmination of thinking through the years with reference to Federal aid to education in general, several conditions have arisen in more recent months which make it imperative that this bill be passed by the Congress, or certainly some modification of this bill.

The three points that I have in mind are these:

First, that this bill will help in closing the gap of inequalities in education in general.

By that I mean that there are conditions where there are differences in educational opportunities within States and there are differences, of course, as between States. Without going into detail with reference to the abilities of the several States, which is a tax matter, it is obvious, I am sure, to this committee that the abilities of the various States vary in terms of their resources and the per capita wealth behind each child. That being true, there is bound to be obvious differences in educational opportunities between States.

Similarly when you get within the State you will find that there is a variety of methods of managing State school affairs. Some are handled entirely from the State standpoint, like in North Carolina, and others are handled entirely from the local standpoint, or practically

So.

With those differences in methodology, obviously there are differences within the States, not only in terms of their abilities to pay in the various localities but in terms of the ability of the State as a whole.

Hence, in order to wipe out as fully as possible the differences in educational opportunities between the States and within the States there must be some outside assistance. And to us it is obvious that the Federal Government should assume the responsibility of caring for these inequalities.

The second point that I wish to call attention to is that likewise this bill will tend to equalize educational opportunities in terms of the recent court decisions with reference to Negro education. We know that the Negro education problem is a serious problem. We know that up until recently it was regarded primarily as a State or local function. We still believe that it is a State and local function. But in terms of the Supreme Court's decision with reference to these various court cases it is obvious now that the Federal Government has stepped into the picture and is forcing the issue, so to speak, which issue must be met either by the localities and the States or by Federal Government working with the localities and the States. And since Negro education has made progress in the several States in the past without Federal aid, in a rather satisfactory manner, this sudden forcing of the issue on these States seems to me must be met by the source which forced the issue.

In that connection I would like to read into the record a statement as follows:

Negroes have in general the poorest schools to be found in the Nation, the poorest trained teachers, the shortest school terms, the poorest buildings, the least equipment and instructional materials, and the most meager high-school facilities. In spite of this unfavorable status, it is nevertheless true that Negro schools have been rapidly improving. It must be remembered that educational facilities for Negroes started from nearly nothing in 1866. From then to 1930 literacy among Negroes increased from 10 percent to 90 percent. Since 1918 remarkable progress has been made in the Negro schools; the average number of days at

tended per year per pupil has increased from 70 days to 111; the average length of school term, from 106 days to 142; the percent of school population enrolled in school, from 68.6 to 83.7; the percent of pupils attending school daily, from 65.7 to 78; the percent of pupils in high school, from 0.97 to 6.6; the number of pupils per teacher has decreased from 63 to 43. During this same period the Negro school population increased only 1.5 percent.

It seems to me from those data that it is obvious that the Negro educational problem, which is found primarily in the Southland, has been making considerable progress, and making it in terms of ability and effort of the States in those areas. And now that the problem is being forced upon them, as I indicated a little while ago, it would appear that it is almost imperative that the Federal Governmentthinking of the Supreme Court as representative of the Federal Government and the Nation-should meet the obligation which it has forced upon them.

The CHAIRMAN. May I ask one question right there, Mr. Hall?
Mr. HALL. Yes; surely.

The CHAIRMAN. The question of mere literacy is no longer a question any greater among the Negroes than any other class, is it?

Mr. HALL. No, sir; the problem of literacy is just as serious with one group as it is with another. I think those data which I just read would indicate that rather clearly.

Much more could be said about that matter. In fact, I could read into the record evidence concerning the need for school buildings and better prepared teachers and things of that sort; but I think those data speak well enough for themselves.

I would next like to say that this Senate bill 1313 would not only tend to close the gap of inequality in general and also help to close the gap in terms of lack of educational opportunity between races, but it would also make it possible, in the third place, for an extension. of the educational program in the directions in which they seem to be needed.

The point was made this morning by Senator Ellender, I think, that we train too many people for white-collar jobs but not properly and sufficiently to meet the ordinary problems of labor or the position to be found in labor.

I would like to get it into the record that while there is much truth in what Senator Ellender says and I am sure that he would agree with me-we do not want to neglect the so-called general educational aspects in this picture, yet emphasize the very point he made, that is, the training of individuals for other types of occupation. In other words, I should say that I agree with the Senator that we do need more training in the vocational fields and more definite training in trades and occupations. But, at the same time, I am sure that he would not disagree with me when I say that we should not neglect any of the other aspects of education.

So in that sense I want merely to say that this bill would make it possible, as I see it, to construct and locate a series of regional trade schools whereby we can let those schools serve regions to which boys and young people could go and learn the various trades and occupations. We all know that a trade school does not exist only of itself without other aspects of education being included.

What I mean by that is this, that as soon as you set up an institution like a trade and industrial institution, you have to have accompany

that program the necessary related knowledge and also the necessary social understandings.

In other words, there are three categories that any school will ultimately have to cover; (1) teaching the skills of the particular job; (2) the related knowledge to those skills; and (3) the social understandings that human beings have to have to operate as good citizens. So even with the set-up of regional schools or comprehensive high schools, there will very soon develop in those schools related subjects to the particular occupations or trades that are taught, and the social understandings which are necessary to those occupations.

In other words, you can hardly establish even a regional school of a trade and industrial nature without having accompanying fields of work that prepare the individual in terms of skill, without also giving them the subject matters relating to those particular skills and the social understandings that go with it.

By social understandings I mean how to get along with people. By related knowledge I mean the scientific knowledge necessary to the understanding of the skills. By the skills I mean the manual manipulations or the mental manipulations that have to be performed by the individual concerned.

Senator ELLENDER. It is not your view that the existing high schools throughout the Nation could not be developed to meet this need.

Mr. HALL. No, sir; I would say that the present high schools, if consolidated into large enough units with the necessary equipment and materials added to them, could become trade and industrial schools or comprehensive high schools giving the academic and the vocational training.

Senator ELLENDER. Don't you find that there have been too many high schools established in certain counties or communities?

Mr. HALL. There is no question that too many have been established.

Senator ELLENDER. I know that that is the case in many parishes in my State. We have some parishes in Louisiana with a population of, let us say, 65,000 people with as many as 17 high schools. Some have been consolidated in recent years, I am glad to state.

Mr. HALL. That is right. Undoubtedly there is evidence to show that our high schools have been built on slim foundations in many instances. That is because everybody wanted a high school close to them back in the earlier days. We now know that you cannot offer a varied program of studies sufficiently to meet the needs of the youths if we limit these schools to three or four teachers; you have to have large administrative units to justify the expenditures.

Senator ELLENDER. And have teachers who specialize in that particular trade?

Mr. HALL. That is right.

Senator ELLENDER. Don't you think that a program could easily be worked out through a system of consolidation?

Mr. HALL. There is no question but that that is under way and is the solution to it. There again, you have to educate your people to consent to the consolidations.

Having been a State superintendent for the past several years-for the last 12 years-I know some of the problems that are involved in that picture. But we must continue to hammer away at that problem.

Frankly, I would like to put it in the record here that I am thoroughly and bitterly opposed to several extraeducational institutions being established to perform the same function as our public schools. We already have the great institution of public education. We should take that institution as set up and build around it those offerings in education that are necessary to train our children for citizenship and making a living. There is no need of developing new institutions to meet that demand. It can be done more economically with the existing institutions through consolidations, through broader programs of study, through preparation of teachres to teach these particular skills, rather than by doing it in some other manner.

There is much more that I could say about that. But, appropos of the discussions that have taken place thus far, I feel that I should make one reference to this matter, and ask you to permit me to put this into the record, if you wish it, with reference to this bill having to meet the emergency needs in terms of defense.

Several times reference was made this morning to these defense areas. I have before me a summary of the situation in the State of Virginia. And I believe it would be a good idea to let you see it from the standpoint of a single State; and then you can multiply it in the terms of expense in the defense areas that are being developed.

Senator ELLENDER. Before you make that statement, I think Virginia has been one of the outstanding States in which there has been this so-called concentrated expansion.

Mr. HALL. That is why I wanted to read that into the record. Senator ELLENDER. If that be true, then how can you take Virginia as an example?

Mr. HALL. You might take Virginia as one example. California as another; New York as another. The seaboard States are the places where the concentrations occur.

I have much sympathy with the idea that you have been presenting today about keeping these concentrations from occuring. And I want to show the committee what our situation is. It is one that is thoroughly impossible for Virginia as a State to cope with, without Federal assistance, either through defense funds immediately or through Senate bill 1313 as a general matter.

I am unable to say which is the better. From one angle the defense program would be better as an emergency matter; but I think part of this program is going to be with us through the years, and that it will not be ended in 2 or 3 years; therefore, we might as well prepare against the inevitable. That is my only reason for trying to bring this to your attention now. It will take but a minute.

This survey has been made of 12 counties and 9 cities in the State. Without reading you the details, I shall read you the totals.

We know that there are 11,533 elementary school children over and above those regularly enrolled in the schools in Virginia, in certain areas in these 12 counties and 9 cities.

There are 5,792 high-school children. That makes a total of about 17,000 additional children.

Our best estimates, made by our engineers and architects with reference to buildings, was that it will cost $153,000 to purchase the sites upon which buildings could be constructed; $332,090 to purchase the equipment; $4,372,600 to either build the new buildings or alter existing buildings, or make such additions as may be necessary.