People ex rel. Beckwith v. Board of Education of Oakland
Before: Myrick
Synopsis
Text Books—Common Schools—Constitutional Law—Repeal of Statute. Section 7, art. ix, of the Constitution, x>roviding that “ the local Boards of Education, and the Boards of Sdpervisors and County Superintendents of the several counties which may not have County Boards of Education, shall adopt a series of text-books for the use of the common schools within their respective jurisdictions,” is self-executing, and operated as a repeal of the Act of December 13th, 1875, which provided that the text-books in use in the years 1873-4r-5 should be continued in use until otherwise provided by statute. o
Id.—Local Boards of Education—Definition.—Each Board of Education, whether of a city and township, or county, is local as to the territory of its jurisdiction, and where portions of a county are subject to local boards, the County Board is local as to the balance of the county.
Id. — Common Schools—Constitutional Law—County Superintendent — Boards of Supervisors.—A question stated as to how the powers of the County Superintendents and Boards of Supervisors are to be executed, in cases where the selection of the text-books devolves upon them; and held, that as to such cases, the section may hot be self-executing, and we might thus have a section self-executing as to one class of officers, and not so as to another.
Myrick, J.: This is an application for a writ of mandate directing the respondents to use and cause to be used in the public schools of the qity of Oakland the text-books known as the McGuffey series of Readers.
The facts upon which the application is based are as follows : During the years 1873, 1874, and 1875, and thence continuously until January 17th, 1880, the McGuffey series of Readers were by law in general use in the public schools of said city. At a meeting of the Board of Education of said city, held January 17th, 1880, the said board determined and resolved to adopt and introduce into general use as text-books in all the public schools of said city,-the text-books known as the Appleton series of Readers, in lieu and in place of the McGuffey series of Readers; which said resolution has been enforced, and ever since said day, said Appleton series of Readers has been continuously and is used in said city, in lieu and in place, and to the exclusion, of said McGuffey’s series of Readers.
The law under which the application for the writ is made is as follows :
By the Acts of March 14th, 1868, (Stat. 1867-8, p. 161) and March 1st, 1872, (Stat. 1871—2, p. 174) it was provided that the Board of Education of the city of Oakland shall have sole power to determine what text-books shall be used in the schools of that city. By an amendment to § 1521, Political Code, in effect from March 13th, 1874, the State Board of Education was given the power to “ prescribe and enforce the use of a uniform series of text-books in the public schools, except in the City and County of San Francisco.” By the Act- of December 13th, 1875, (Stat. 1875-6? p. 1) it was provided that “ the textbooks in use in the public schools during the years 1873-4-5, shall be continued in use in all the public schools of this State, until otherwise provided by statute.”
The respondents rely upon § 7, art. ix, of the new Constitution, claiming that it is self-executing, and that local boards have the right under it to adopt a series of text-books to be used within their respective jurisdictions. The section is as follows : “ The local Boards of Education, and the Boards of Supervisors, and [334]County Superintendents of the several counties which may not have County Boards of Education, shall adopt a series of textbooks for the use of the common schools within their respective jurisdictions. The text-books so adopted shall continue in use for not less than four years. They shall also have control of the examination of teachers, and the granting of teachers’ certificates, within their several jurisdictions.”
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