taken from it, the funds and property, or the income and proceeds thereof, shall be divided among the several parts in such manner as the School Committee of the town or towns to which the district belongs may determine: And when a part of one district is added to another district, or part of a district owning a school house or other property, such part shall pay to the district or part of a district to which it is added, (if demanded) such sum as the School Committee may determine.

JOINT DISTRICTS.

SEC. 50. Any two or more adjoining primary school districts in the same or adjoining towns, may by a concurrent vote, agree to establish a secondary or grammar school, for the older and more advanced children of such districts. Such associating districts shall constitute a school district for all the purposes of providing a school house, fuel, furniture and apparatus, and for the election of a Board of Trustees, to consist of one member from each associating district, and for the laying of a tax for school purposes, and fixing rates of tuition, with all the rights and privileges of a school district, so far as the secondary school is concerned. The time and place for the meeting for organization of such secondary district, may be fixed by the School Committees, and any one or more of the associating districts may delegate to the trustees of the secondary district the care and management of its primary school. Committee of the town or towns in which such secondary school shall be established, shall draw an order in favor of the trustees of said school, to be paid out of the public money appropriated to each district interested in said secondary school, in proportion to the number of scholars from each.

The School

SEC. 51. Any two or more adjoining school districts in the same town may, by concurrent vote, with the approbation of the School Committee, unite together and be consolidated into one district, for the purpose of supporting public schools, and such consolidated district shall have all the powers of a single district, but shall be entitled to receive the same proportion of public money the districts would receive if not united. The mode of organizing such districts and calling the first meetings thereof shall be regulated or prescribed by the School Committee.

SEC. 52. Two or more contiguous districts, or parts of districts in adjoining towns, may be formed into a joint school district by the School Committee of such towns concurring therein, and all joint districts heretofore or hereafter formed may by them be altered or discontinued. The meeting for organization shall be called by notice signed by the School Committee of such towns, and set up in one or more places in each district, or part of a district. Such district shall have all the powers of a single school district, and be regulated in the same manner, and shall be subject to the supervision and management of the School Committee of the town in which the school is located. A whole district making a portion of such joint district shall be entitled to its portion of public money in the same manner as if it remained a single district; and when part of a district is taken to form a portion of such joint district, the School Committee shall assign to it its reasonable proportion. Where a joint district shall vote to build or repair a school house by tax, the amount of the tax and the plan and specifications of the building and repairs shall be approved by the School Committees of the several towns, or by the Commissioner of Public Schools. And in case of assessing a tax by a joint or secondary district, if the town assessments be made upon different principles, or the relative value be not the same, the relative value and proportion shall be ascertained by one or more persons, to be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Schools, and the assessment shall be made accordingly.

SEC. 53. The School Committee of any town, or trustees of any school district, may make arrangements with the School Committee of any adjacent town, or trustees of any adjacent district, for the attendance of such children as will be better accommodated in the public schools of such adjacent town or district, and may pay such portion of the expense as may be just and proper.

TEACHERS.

SEC. 54. No person shall be employed in any town to teach as principal or assistant in any school supported entirely or in part by the public money, unless he has a certificate of qualification, signed either by the School Committee of the town, or by some person or persons appointed by said committee, which shall be valid within

said town for one year, unless annulled, or by an inspector of the county, which shall express a higher degree of attainment and be valid within the county for two years, and if countersigned by the Commissioner of Public Schools, within the State for three years, unless annulled.

SEC. 55. Neither of the above authorities shall sign any certificate of qualification unless the person named in the same shall produce evidence of good moral character, and be found on examination or by experience, qualified to teach the English language, arithmetic, penmanship, and the rudiments of geography and history, and to govern a school.

SEC. 56. The School Committee of any town may dismiss any teacher, by whomsoever examined, who shall refuse to conform to the regulations by them made, or for other just cause, and in such case shall give immediate notice to the Trustees of the district.

SEC. 57. Every teacher in any public school shall keep a register of all the scholars attending said school, their ages, names of parents or guardians, the time when each scholar enters and leaves the school, the daily attendance, together with the days of the month on which the school is visited by any of the authorities named in this act, and shall prepare the district's return to the School Committee of the town, if requested to do so by the Trustee.

TEACHERS' INSTITUTES.

SEC. 58. There shall annually be paid out of the General Treasury, to the order of the Commissioner of Public Schools, a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars, for defraying the expense of holding Teachers' or Normal Institutes, and the Commissioner shall file in the General Treasurer's office an account of the disbursement of said sum.

OF RATE-BILLS FOR TUITION, &c.

SEC. 59. Any school district may fix or authorize its Trustees to fix a rate of tuition, to be paid by the persons attending school, or by their parents, employers or guardians, towards the expense of fuel, books and other expenses (including estimated deficiencies of payments) over and above the money received from the town and State appropriations; and where there is no district organization, the School Committee may fix the rate; and the district, trustees

or committee, shall exempt therefrom all persons whom they shall consider unable to pay the same. Provided, that the trustees may prescribe and collect a rate in their discretion, sufficient to keep the school for the four months required by law, without any vote of the district; and Provided, also, that the rate of tuition shall not exceed one dollar per scholar for any term of eleven weeks, except in towns or districts where different grades of schools are established, when the rate for the higher grades may be not exceeding two dollars per scholar for the same time: And Provided further, that the amount of the rate be approved by the School Committee of the town. All such rate bills may be required to be paid in advance, or may be delivered to the town or district collector, and may be by them collected in the same manner as town taxes are collected. SEC. 60. No person shall be excluded from any public schools in the district to which such person belongs, if the town is divided into districts, or if not so divided, from the nearest public school, on account of being over fifteen years of age, nor except by force of some general regulation applicable to all persons under the same circumstances, and in no case on account of the inability of himself, his parents, guardian or employer, to pay any rate bill, tax or assessment whatever.

SEC. 61. Any person committed to jail by the town or district collector, either for a tax or for a rate bill for tuition or assessments, shall be entitled to the benefit of "An Act for the relief of poor persons imprisoned for debt," in the same manner as if committed for town taxes. And any person assessed in any rate bill as aforesaid, may, before commitment, apply to any justice of the peace in the town, for a citation to the committee, trustee or trustees, to appear at a time and place named within said district, and show cause why he should not be admitted to take the oath prescribed in said act: said citation shall be served by any officer or disinterested person three days before the time appointed, upon the chairman of clerk of the committee, or trustee, (or upon any one of them, it more than one) and the applicant shall be heard before the justice signing the citation, and may by him be admitted to take the oath aforesaid; and a certificate thereof, signed by him, shall be a full protection to the applicant against any further proceedings for col

lecting said rate. And the service of the citation aforesaid shall suspend such proceedings for at least ten days, unless the case be sooner heard and disposed of.

ENGAGEMENTS.

SEC. 62. All school officers appointed under this act, (except the moderator of a district meeting) shall take an engagement to support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution and laws of this State, and faithfully to discharge the duties of their several offices, so long as they continue therein, before some judge, senator, justice or warden, notary, town clerk, member of the town council, or chairman or clerk of the School Committee. The clerk of the district may take the engagement in open district meeting, before the moderator, or any magistrate present, and the clerk's record that any district officer has been duly engaged, shall be prima facie evidence thereof. And all district school officers may be engaged by the clerk of the district. If any school officer shall not take such engagement within a reasonable time, he shall be liable to a penalty of one dollar, to be recovered on complaint before any justice of the peace, to the use of the State: but all acts of such officers otherwise lawful shall be valid from the time of their election or appointment.

SEC. 63. All officers under the school law shall, without a new engagement, hold their offices until the time of the next annual election or appointment for such office, and until other persons are appointed in their places.

PENALTIES.

SEC. 64. Any officer who shall make any false certificate, or appropriate any public school money to any purpose not authorized by law, or who shall refuse for a reasonable charge to give certified copies of any official paper, to account or deliver to his successor any accounts, papers or money in his hands, or shall wilfully or knowingly refuse to perform any duty of his office, or violate any provisions of any acts existing or hereafter passed, regulating public schools, except where a particular penalty may be prescribed, may be indicted therefor, and on conviction fined not exceeding five hundred dollars, or imprisoned not exceeding six months, and shall besides be liable to suit for damages by any person injured thereby.