CHAPTER XIV
PROVISION FOR EDUCATION BY STATES
Having now considered the plan and organization of the several kinds of schools for the deaf in America, namely, the institutions, the day schools, the private schools and the national college, we proceed in this chapter to examine the work in the several states individually, and to note to what extent and in what manner the education of the deaf has been provided for in each.
Alabama. A private school was started near Montgomery in 1854, but was discontinued after one or two years. The state school was established at Talladega in 1858.[313] In 1891[314] a school was created for the colored deaf and blind. The schools are governed by a board of thirteen members, including the governor and the superintendent of public instruction.[315]
Arizona. Before the opening of a local school the deaf were sent to other states for instruction.[316] The state school was created in 1912,[317] and is a part of the state university. On the admission of Arizona as a state, 100,000 acres of the public land were granted for the benefit of the school for the deaf and the blind.
Arkansas. A private school was opened at Clarksville in 1850, which was moved to Little Rock in 1861.[318] After a suspension, it was started anew in 1867, and in 1868 was taken over by the state.[319] The school is now in the hands of the state board of charitable institutions.[320]
California. The state institution for the deaf and the blind was established at Berkeley in 1860,[321] after a society had been formed for the purpose. The school is controlled by a board of five directors, while the state board of charities supervises.[322] There are four day schools in the state:[323] at Oakland, opened in 1898, and supported by state and county; at Los Angeles in 1899, supported by city and private subscriptions; at San Francisco in 1901, supported by the city; and at Sacramento in 1904, supported by state and city. There is a private school in Oakland, the St. Joseph's Home, opened in 1895, and one in San Francisco, the Holden Home Oral School, opened in 1913.
Colorado. The state school was opened at Colorado Springs in 1874,[324] and is for the deaf and the blind. It is supported by a one-fifth mill tax on the assessed property valuation of the state. The school is in the hands of a board of five trustees, and is connected with the state board of education.[325]
Connecticut. The American School was established at Hartford in 1817.[326] At the time the state made an appropriation of $5,000, and in 1828 began to allow a certain sum for each state pupil, a policy still continued. The school has remained a private corporation, and its board is made up of eight vice-presidents and eight elected directors, together with the governors and secretaries of state of the New England states. In 1819 Congress gave the school 23,000 acres of the public land, from which almost $300,000 has been realized. Gifts from private sources have nearly equalled this, about half coming since 1850.[327] A second school is at Mystic, known as the Mystic Oral School, this having been started in 1870 at Ledyard, where it remained four years.[328] It is under a board of ten corporators. Both these schools receive per capita allowances from the state, and are visited by the state board of charities.[329]