DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., Hon. Frederick W. Dallinger presiding. Present: Messrs. Dallinger (chairman), Reed, Robsion, Holaday, Fleetwood, Welsh, Bacon, Fenn, Lowrey, Tucker, Doughton, Hastings, Moore, Allen, and Black. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. The hearing to-day will be on the bill H. R. 3923, "A bill to create a department of education, to authorize appropriations for the conduct of said department, to authorize the appropriation of money to encourage the States in the promotion and support of education, and for other purposes. I will ask Miss Williams, the field secretary of the National Education Association, to open the hearing. I understand she is going to have charge of it for the advocates of the bill. STATEMENT OF MISS CHARL O. WILLIAMS, FIELD SECRETARY NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION Miss WILLIAMS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee we who are here supporting the Sterling-Reed bill wish to record our very sincere appreciation of the action of the committee in giving us this hearing before we go to Chicago to the midwinter annual meeting of the educators of the Nation. We believe that the message that we can carry to them of the interest which has been shown, both in the Senate and in the House, will be extremely heartening to them. I am not going to take up time this morning for myself, because I am here in Washington all of the time, and there are other busy men and women who have left their positions to come down and express their deep convictions regarding this great national measure and their abiding faith in the outcome; so I am going to give all of the time to them. I wish to ask in the beginning,, that the House bill 3923 be printed in the record at this time, and that the analysis of this bill may follow the bill in the record. (The bill and the analysis thereof referred to, are here printed in the record as follows:) [H. R. 3923, Sixty-eighth Congress, first session] A BILL To create a department od education, to authorize appropriations for the conduct of said department, to authorize the appropriation of money to encourage the States in the promotion and support of education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there is hereby created an executive department in the Government to be called the department of education, with a secretary of education, who shall be the head thereof, to be appointed by the President 1 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall receive a salary of $12,000 per annum, and whose tenure of office shall be the same as that of the heads of other executive departments; and section 158 of the Revised Statutes is hereby amended to include such department, and the provisions of Title IV of the Revised Statutes, including all amendments thereto are hereby made applicable to said department. The secretary of education shall cause a seal of office to be made for such department of such device as the President shall approve, and judicial notice shall be taken of said seal. SEC. 2. That there shall be in said department an assistant secretary of education, to be appointed by the President, who shall receive a salary to be determined by Congress. He shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the secretary or required by law. There shall also be one chief clerk and a disbursing clerk and such chiefs of bureaus and clerical assistants as may from time to time be authorized by Congress. SEC. 3. That there is hereby transferred to the department of education the Bureau of Education, and such offices, bureaus, divisions, boards, or branches of the Government, connected with or attached to any of the executive departments or organized independently of any department, as Congress may determine should be administered by the department of education, and all such offices, bureaus, divisions, boards, or branches of the Government so transferred by act of Congress shall thereafter be administered by the department of education, as hereinafter provided. All officers, clerks, and employees employed in or by any office, bureau, division, board, or branch of the Government, transferred in accordance with the provisions of this act to the department of education, shall each and all be transferred to said department of education at their existing grades and salaries, except where otherwise provided in this act; and the office records and papers on file pertaining exclusively to the business of any such office, bureau, division, board, or branch of the Government so transferred, together with the furniture and equipment thereof, shall be transferred to said department. SEC. 4. That the secretary of education shall have charge, in the buildings or premises occupied by or assigned to the department of education, of the library, furniture, fixtures, records, and other property used therein or pertaining thereto, and may expend for rental of appropriate quarters for the accommodation of the department of education within the District of Columbia, and for the library, furniture, equipment, and all other incidental expenses, such sums as Congress may provide from time to time. All power and authority conferred by law upon the head of any executive department, or upon any administrative board, over any officer, office, bureau, division, board, or branch of the Government, transferred in accordance with the provisions of this act to the department of education, shall, after such transfer, be vested in the secretary of education, and all business arising therefrom or pertaining thereto, and all duties performed in connection therewith, shall thereafter be administered by the department of education. All laws prescribing the work and defining the duties and powers of the several offices, bureaus, divisions, boards, or branches of the Government, transferred in accordance with the provisions of this act to the department of education, shall, in so far as the same are not in conflict with the provisions of this act, remain in full force and effect and be administered by the secretary of education, to whom is hereby granted authority to reorganize the work of any and all of the said offices, bureaus, divisions, boards, or branches of the Government so transferred in such way as will in his judgment best accomplish the purposes of this act. SEC. 5. That the department of education shall conduct studies and investigations in the field of education and report thereon. Research shall be undertaken in (a) illiteracy; (b) immigrant education; (c) public-school education, and especially rural education; (d) physical education, including health education, recreation, and sanitation; (e) preparation and supply of competent teachers for the public schools; (f) higher education; and in such other fields as, in the judgment of the secretary of education, may require attention and study. In order to carry out the provisions of this section, the secretary of education is authorized, in the same manner as provided for appointments in other departments, to make appointments, or recommendations of appointments, of educational attachés to foreign embassies, and of such investigators and representatives as may be needed, subject to the appropriations that have been made or may hereafter be made to any office, bureau, division, board, or branch of the Government transferred in accordance with the provisions of this act to the department of education; and where appropriations have not been made therefor the appropriation provided in section 6 of this act shall be made available. SEC. 6. That for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1925, and annually thereafter, the sum of $500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the department of education, for the purpose of paying salaries and conducting studies and investigations, and paying all incidental and traveling expenses and rent where necessary, and for the purpose of enabling the department of education to carry out the provisions of this act. And all appropriations which have been made and which may hereafter be made to any office, bureau, division, board, or branch of the Government, transferred in accordance with the provisions of this act to the department of education, are hereby continued in full force and effect, and shall be administered by the secretary of education in such manner as is prescribed by law. SEC. 7. In order to encourage the States to remove illiteracy $7,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is authorized to be appropriated annually for the instruction of illiterates fourteen years of age and over. Said sum shall be apportioned to the States which qualify under the provisions of this act, in the proportions which their respective illiterate populations fourteen years of age and over, not including foreign-born illiterates, bear to sych total illiterate population of the United States, not including outlying possessions, according to the last preceding census of the United States. All funds apportioned to a State for the removal of illiteracy shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authorities for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans, and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof. SEC. 8. That in order to encourage the States in the Americanization of immigrants $7,500,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is authorized to be appropriated annually to teach immigrants fourteen years of age and over to speak and read the English language and to understand and appreciate the Government of the United States and the duties of citizenship. The said sum shall be apportioned to the States which qualify under the provisions of this act in the proportions which their respective foreign-born populations bear to the total foreign-born population of the United States, not including outlying possessions, according to the last preceding census of the United States. All funds appor tioned to a State for the Americanization of immigrants shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authorities for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans, and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof. SEC. 9. That in order to encourage the States to equalize educational opportunities $50,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary is authorized to be appropriated annually to be used in public elementary and secondary schools for the partial payment of teacher's salaries, for providing better instruction and extended school terms especially in rural schools and schools in sparsely settled localities, for the extension and adaptation of public libraries for educational purposes, and otherwise providing equally good educational opportunities for the children of the several States. The said sum shall be apportioned to the States which qualify under the provisions of this act one-half in the proportions which the number of children between the ages of six and twenty-one of the respective States bears to the total number of such children in the United States, and one-half in the proportions which the number of public-school teachers employed in teaching positions in the respective States bears to the total number of publicschool teachers so employed in the United States, not including outlying possessions, said apportionment to be based upon statistics collected annually by the department of education. All funds apportioned to a State to equalize educational opportunities shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authorities for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof: Provided, however, That the apportionments authorized by this section shall be made only to such States as by law provide: (a) A legal school term of at least twenty-four weeks in each year for the benefit of all children of school age in such State; (b) A compulsory school attendance law requiring all children between the ages of seven and fourteen years to attend some school for at least twenty-four weeks in each year; (c) That the English language shall be the basic language of instruction in the common school branches in all schools, bublic and private: Provided, That apportionment may be made under the provisions of this section to a State prevented by its constitution from full compliance with the foregoing conditions if said conditions are approximated as nearly as constitutional limitations will permit. SEC. 10. That in order to encourage the States in the promotion of physical education, $20,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is authorized to be appropriated annually for physical education and instruction in the principles of health and sanitation. Said sum shall be apportioned to the States which qualify under the provisions of this act in the proportions which their respective populations bear to the total population of the United States, not including outlying possessions, according to the last preceding census of the United States. All funds apportioned to a State for the promotion of physical education shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authorities for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans, and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof. SEC. 11. That in order to encourage the States in the preparation of teachers for public-school service, $15,000,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is authorized to be appropriated annually to provide and extend facilities for the improvement of teachers in service and for the more adequate preparation of prospective teachers, and to provide an increased number of trained and competent teachers by encouraging through the establishment of scholarships and otherwise a greater number of talented young persons to make adequate preparation for public-school service. The said sum shall be apportioned to the States which qualify under the provisions of this act in the proportions which the number of public-school teachers employed in teaching positions in the respective States bear to the total number of public-school teachers so employed in the United States, not including outlying possessions, said apportionments to be based on statistics collected annually by the department of education. All funds apportioned to a State for the preparation of teachers for public-school service shall be distributed and administered in accordance with the laws of said State in like manner as the funds provided by State and local authorities for the same purpose, and the State and local educational authorities of said State shall determine the courses of study, plans, and methods for carrying out the purposes of this section within said State in accordance with the laws thereof. SEC. 12. That in order to receive apportionment from one or more of the appropriations authorized in sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this act a State shall by legislative enactment accept the provisions of this act and provide for the distribution and administration of such funds as shall be apportioned to said State, and shall designate the State's chief educational authority, whether a State superintendent of public instruction, a commissioner of education, a State board of education, or other legally constituted chief educational authority, to represent said State in the administration of this act, and such authority so designated shall be recognized by the secretary of education: Provided, That in any State in which the legislature does not meet within one year after the passage of this act, the governor of said State, in so far as he may have authority so to do, may take such action, temporarily, as is herein provided to be taken by legislative enactment in order to secure the benefits of this act, and such action by the governor shall be recognized by the secretary of education for the purposes of this act until the legislature of said State shall have met in due course and been in session sixty days. In any State accepting the provisions of this act the State treasurer shall be designated and appointed as custodian of all funds received by said State as apportionments under the provisions of this act, to receive and provide for the proper custody and disbursement of the same, such disbursements to be made in accordance with the legal provisions of said State. A State may accept the provisions of any one or more of the respective apportionments authorized in sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this act, and may defer the acceptance of any one or more of said apportionments: Provided, however, That no money shall be apportioned to any State from any of the funds authorized to be appropriated by sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this act, unless a sum at least equally as large shall be provided by said State, or by local authorities, or by both, for the same purpose: And provided further, That the sum or sums provided by the State and local authorities for the equalization of educational opportunities, for the promotion of physical education, and for the preparation of teachers shall not be less for any year than the amount provided for the same purpose for the fiscal year next preceding the acceptance of the provisions of this act by said State: And provided further, That no money apportioned to a State under any of the provisions of this act shall be used by any State or local authority, directly or indirectly, for the purchase, rental, erection, preservation, or repair of any building or equipment, or for the purchase or rental of land, or for the payment of debts or the interest thereon. SEC. 13. That when a State shall have accepted the provisions of this act and shall have provided for the distribution and administration of such funds as shall be apportioned to said State, and when the State's chief educational authority designated to represent said State shall so report in writing to the secretary of education, and said report shall be approved by the governor of said State, showing that said State has complied with the provisions of this act with respect to any one or more of the apportionments authorized in sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this act, and when annually thereafter a like report shall be filed with the secretary of education, approved by the governor of said State, the secretary of education shall apportion to said State for the ensuing fiscal year such funds as said State may be entitled to receive under the provisions of this act, and shall certify such apportionment or apportionments to the Secretary of the Treasury: Provided, That all the educational facilities encouraged by the provisions of this act and accepted by a State shall be organized, supervised, and administered exclusively by the legally constituted State and local educational authorities of said State, and the secretary of education shall exercise no authority in relation thereto; and this act shall not be construed to imply Federal control of education within the States, nor to impair the freedom of the States in the conduct and management of their respective school systems. SEC. 14. That the secretary of education is authorized to prescribe plans for keeping accounts of the expenditures of such funds as may be apportioned to the States under the provisions of this act and to audit such accounts. If the secretary of education shall determine that the apportionment or apportionments made to a State for the current fiscal year are not being expended in accordance with the provisions of this act, he shall give notice in writing to the chief educational authority designated to represent said State, and to the governor of said State, in duplicate, stating specifically wherein said State fails to comply with the provisions of this act. If after being so notified a State fails to comply with the provisions of this act, the secretary of education shall report thereon to Congress not later than in his next annual report. If any portion of the money received by the treasurer of a State, under the provisions of this act, for any of the purposes herein named shall, by action or contingency, be diminished or lost, the same shall be replaced by said State, and until so replaced no subsequent apportionment for such purpose shall be made to said State. If any part of the funds apportioned annually to any State for any of the purposes named in sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of this act has not been expended for such purpose, a sum equal to such unexpended part shall be deducted from the next succeeding annual apportionment made to said State for such purpose. SEC. 15. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and directed to pay quarterly to the treasurer of each State such apportionment or apportionments as the secretary of education shall certify that said State is entitled to receive under the provisions of this act. SEC. 16. That the chief educational authority designated to represent a State receiving any of the apportionments made under the provisions of this act shall, not later than September 1 of each year, make a report to the secretary of education showing the work done in said State in carrying out the provisions of this act during the next preceding fiscal year, and the receipts and expenditures of money apportioned to said State under the provisions of this act. If the chief educational authority designated to represent a State shall fail to report as herein provided, the secretary of education may discontinue all apportionments to said State until such report shall have been made. SEC. 17. That there is hereby created a national council on education to consult and advise with the secretary of education on subjects relating to the promotion and development of education in the United States. The secretary of education shall be chairman of said council, which shall be constituted as follows: (a) The chief educational authority of each State designated to represent said |