Chap. 11.—An ACT to require the school board of any county having an area
and population within certain respective designated limitations to employ school
attendance officers, prescribing their duties, and making certain violations of
the provisions thereof misdemeanors and prescribing the punishment therefor.

[H 47]
Approved February 10, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia :

1. Section 1. For any county having an area of not less than five
hundred twenty (520), nor more than five hundred twenty-nine (529),
square miles and a population of not less than thirty-five thousand (35,-
000) nor more than forty-four thousand (44,000), according to the latest
preceding United States census, the judge of the circuit court of the
county shall appoint one or more attendance officers who shall be primar-
ily charged with the enforcement of the compulsory attendance laws of
this State as provided in sections six hundred eighty-three through six
hundred eighty-six of the Code as now or hereafter amended; for this
purpose these officers are vested with the powers and authority of a
sheriff.

Section 2. All attendance officers appointed pursuant to the pro-
visions of this act shall be employed by the school board on a yearly
basis; in the interim between sessions of school and at other times when
their duties permit, they shall visit the homes of children of school age
in order to ascertain the causes of non-attendance of any child and they
shall report their findings at once to the school board and to the Com-
monwealth’s attorney who shall in proper cases prosecute those persons
appearing to have violated the provisions of law relating to the com-
pulsory attendance at school of children of school age. The compensa-
tion of the attendance officers shall be fixed by the school board. Every
attendance officer shall keep an accurate record of all notices served, of
cases prosecuted and of other services performed and shall annually re-
port them to the board appointing him. Attendance officers shall not be
entitled to fees but their compensation shall be allowed by the board em-
ploying them and paid out of funds provided therefor in the school bud-
get.

Section 3. No State funds, otherwise distributable, shall be dis-
tributed to any county the school board of which fails to employ an at-
tendance officer as herein required. Any attendance officer employed
pursuant to the provisions of this act who, by malfeasance, misfeasance
or nonfeasance violates any provision of the compulsory school attend-
ance laws of this State, as now or hereafter amended, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than
one hundred dollars or by confinement in jail for not less than five nor
more than sixty days or both.

Section 4. Any person having the care, custody and control of a
child who is required to attend the public schools as provided by law, who
fails or refuses to require the child to attend school shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and subject to a fine of not less than ten nor more than
one hundred dollars or confinement in jail for not less than five nor more
than sixty days or both.