Chap. 702.—An ACT to provide for the reorganization of the institution for the
deaf and dumb and the blind, and to repeal chapter 74 of the code of Virginia,
and to repeal chapter 226 of the acts of assembly, entitled “an act to regu-
late the appointment of the board of directors of the deaf, dumb and blind
institute at Staunton, Virginia,” approved May 14, 1887.

Approved March 4, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That chapter
seventy-four of the code of Virginia, entitled the institution for the
deaf and dumb and the blind, and chapter two hundred and twenty-
six of the acts of assembly, entitled “an act to regulate the appoint-
ment of the board of directors of the deaf, dumb and blind institute
at Staunton, Virginia,” be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

2. The institution established for the education of the deaf and
dumb and of the blind, by act of the thirty-first day of March, eigh-
teen hundred and thirty-eight, shall be continued, and the visitors
thereof shall be a corporation by the name of the institution for
the deaf and dumb and of the blind, and be vested with all the
rights and powers now vested in the corporation created by the said
act and be subject to the control of the general assembly.

3. The present board of visitors of the institution for the deaf and
dumb and the blind are removed on the fifteenth day of March,
eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and the governor of Virginia, with
the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint six persons as
visitors of the said institution, who, together with the superintend-
ent of public instruction of the state, shall constitute the board of
visitors for the government of the said institution. The terms of
office of said visitors shall commence on the fifteenth day of March,
eighteen hundred and ninety-six, and hold as follows:

Under the first appointment under this act two visitors shall hold
for one year, two for two years, and two for three years, and all suc-
ceeding appointments shall be for three years. If any vacancy
occur in the board of visitors during their term it shall be filled by
the governor for the unexpired term by appointment, which shall be
subject to ratification or rejection by the senate at the next session
of the general assembly.

4. The board shall appoint one of the visitors as their president,
and in case of his absence, a president pro tempore. The board
shall appoint a secretary, who shall keep an accurate record of the
proceedings of the board and of the executive committee of said
board, should one be created by said board.

5. The board shall be charged with the erection, preservation and
repair of the buildings of the institution and the care of its pro-
perty. It shall direct and do or cause to be done by officers, profes-
sors, agents and employees appointed by said board of visitors all
things necessary or expedient for promoting the objects of the insti-
tution not inconsistent with law.

The board shall provide rules and regulations for the government
of said institution, setting forth in said rules and regulations the
duties of all the officers, professors, agents and employees, and said
rules and regulations to be posted at various places in the institution
and on the premises.

6. The board shall have one annual meeting and such intermediate
meetings as they shall prescribe, the time and place of meeting to be
fixed by said board. A special meeting may be called at any time
by the president, or any three members of the board, notice of the
time and place of such meeting being given to the other members.

7. The superintendent, professors, and all other officers of the in-
stitution, shall be elected on the day of June, eighteen hun-
dred and ninety-six, and every two years thereafter, by the board of
visitors, and shall be selected with reference to fitness, sobriety,
literary and business qualifications, without regard to party affilia-
tions. The board of visitors may remove, at any time, the superin-
tendent, professors, and all other officers of the institution, causing
to be entered upon the record of the board the order of removal, to-
gether with the cause of the removal.

8. Each fiscal year of said institution shall] end on the thirtieth
day of September to which time the accounts of the institution shall
be made up; and the board of visitors shall annually, before the first

day of October, deliver to the second auditor a report to the general
assembly of Virginia, showing the condition of the institution and
its receipts and disbursement for the said year. The board shall
also make reports as required by section two hundred and twenty-one
of the code of Virginia.

9. There shall be in said institution one school for the education of
deaf mutes, and another school for the education of the blind. These
schools must be separate and distinct. The pupils of each school
shall be selected, as the board of visitors may prescribe, among such
persons as are unable to pay for maintenance and support to the ex-
tent of the means of the institution, and also from. other persons,
residents of this state, on such terms for their maintenance and
support as may be agreed upon. But hereafter there shall be no
charge for the education of pupils.

10. For the support of said institution there shall be paid out of
the public treasury, on the orders of the board of visitors, attested
by the secretary and countersigned by the president of the board,
such sums as may from time to time be.appropriated by the general
assembly of Virginia.

11. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act be, and
the same are hereby, repealed.

12. This act shall be in force from its passage.