The Laws of Texas, 1927 [Volume 25] Page: 283 of 1,111

                                
GENERAL AND SPECIAL LAWS.                  267
SPANISH LANGUAGE MAY BE TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS IN
CERTAIN COUNTIES.
H. B. No. 527.]        CHAPTER 188.
An Act to amend Article 288 of the Penal Code of the State of Texas,
adopted at the Regular Session of the Thirty-ninth Legislature, 1925,
so as to make it lawful to teach the Spanish Language in the elementary
grades in public free schools in counties bordering on the boundary
line between the United States and the Republic of Mexico, having
a city or cities of a population of five thousand inhabitants, or more,
according to the United States census of 1920, and declaring an emergency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas:
SECTION 1. That Article 288 of the Penal Code of the State
of Texas adopted at the Regular Session of the Thirty-Ninth Legislature,
1925, be and the same is hereby amended so as to read
as follows:
"Art. 288. Except as herein provided, each teacher, principal
and superintendent employed in the public free schools of this
State shall use the English language exclusively in the conduct
of the work of the schools and recitations and exercises of the
school shall be conducted in the English language, and the trustees
shall not prescribe any texts for elementary grades not
printed in English; provided, however, that it shall be lawful
to provide text books for and to teach the Spanish language in
elementary grades in the public free schools in counties bordering
on the boundary line between the United States and the Republic
of Mexico and having a city or cities of five thousand or
more inhabitants according to the United States census for the
year 1920. It is lawful to teach Latin, Greek, French, German,
'Spanish, Bohemian or other language as a branch of study in
the high school grades as outlined in the sTate course of study.
Any such teacher, principal, superintendent, trustee, or other
school official having responsibility in the conduct of the work
of such schools who fails to comply with the provisions of this
article shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than
one hundred dollars, cancellation of certificate or removal from
office, or both fine and such cancellation or fine and removal
from office.
'SEC. 2. The fact that under the present law it is unlawful
to teach Spanish in the elementary grades in the public free
schools of this State and that in counties having cities of over
five thousand population bordering on the boundary line between
the United States and the Republic of Mexico, a knowledge
of the Spanish language is of inestimable value, to the
citizens and inhabitants of such counties and cities, and the fact
that in order to obtain a speaking knowledge and mastery of
any foreign language, it is imperative that instruction in such
language be begun at the earliest possible period and the crowded
condition of the calendar creates an emergency and an impera-