New Law Tightens Grip on Truancy and Child Labor
Legislation recently passed by the state legislature mandates school attendance for children up to age 15 and empowers officials to arrest truants.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The new school law passed by the last legislature should be familiar to parents of children of school age. All parents and guardians having custody of any child from 8 to 15 years of age shall cause such child to attend public school for the full term. No corporation shall employ children under 15 years of age. Attendance officers are empowered to make arrests and serve process; such officers may bring habitual and incorrigible truants before a justice of the peace who may bind over to superior court with a view of commitment to the state reform school.
“Attendance officers are empowered to make arrests and serve process; such officer may bring habitual and incorrigible truants before a justice of the peace.”
This reflects the early 20th-century transition of children from the workforce into the modern public education system. The punitive measures against parents and children for truancy highlight a shift toward state-controlled childhood at the time.
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