CHAPTER 76. SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
Chapter 76: Section 1. School attendance; requirements and exceptions.
Section 1. Every child between the minimum and maximum ages established for school attendance by the board of education,
except a child between fourteen and sixteen who meets the requirements for the completion of the sixth grade of the public school
as established by said board and who holds a permit for employment in private domestic service or service on a farm, under
section eighty-six of chapter one hundred and forty-nine, and is regularly employed thereunder for at least six hours per day, or a
child between fourteen and sixteen who meets said requirements and has the written permission of the superintendent of schools
of the town where he resides to engage in non-wage-earning employment at home, or a child over fourteen who holds a permit for
employment in a cooperating employment, as provided in said section eighty-six, shall, subject to section fifteen, attend a public day
school in said town, or some other day school approved by the school committee, during the number of days required by the board
of education in each school year, unless the child attends school in another town, for said number of days, under sections six to
twelve, inclusive, or attends an experimental school project established under an experimental school plan, as provided in section
one G of chapter fifteen, but such attendance shall not be required of a child whose physical or mental condition is such as to
render attendance inexpedient or impracticable subject to the provisions of section three of chapter seventy-one B or of a child
granted an employment permit by the superintendent of schools when such superintendent determines that the welfare of such
child will be better served through the granting of such permit, or of a child who is being otherwise instructed in a manner
approved in advance by the superintendent or the school committee. The superintendent of schools may transfer to any specialized
type of school on a full-time basis any child who possesses the educational qualifications enumerated in this section and in the
opinion of the superintendent would be benefited by such transfer. The superintendent, or teachers in so far as authorized by him
or by the school committee, may excuse cases of necessary absence for other causes not exceeding seven day sessions or
fourteen half day sessions in any period of six months. Absences may also be permitted for religious education at such times as
the school committee may establish; provided, that no public funds shall be appropriated or expended for such education or for
transportation incidental thereto; and provided, further, that such time shall be no more than one hour each week. For the purposes
of this section, school committees shall approve a private school when satisfied that the instruction in all the studies required by
law equals in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made therein, that in the public schools in the same town; but shall
not withhold such approval on account of religious teaching, and, in order to protect children from the hazards of traffic and
promote their safety, cities and towns may appropriate money for conveying pupils to and from any schools approved under this
section.
Except as herein provided, pupils who attend approved private schools of elementary and high school grades shall be entitled to the
same rights and privileges as to transportation to and from school as are provided by law for pupils of public schools and shall not
be denied such transportation because their attendance is in a school which is conducted under religious auspices or includes
religious instruction in its curriculum. Each school committee shall provide transportation for any pupil attending such an approved
private school within the boundaries of the school district, provided, however, that the distance between said pupil's residence and
the private school said pupil attends exceeds two miles or such other minimum distance as may be established by the school
committee for transportation of public school students. Any school committee which is required by law to transport any pupil
attending an approved private school beyond the boundaries of the school district shall not be required to do so further than the
distance from the residence of such pupil to the public school he is entitled to attend.
The school committee of each town shall provide for and enforce the school attendance of all children actually residing therein in
accordance herewith.
The terms "permit for employment" and "employment permit", as used in this chapter, shall mean an employment permit referred
to in section eighty-six of chapter one hundred and forty-nine.
