for Negroes; but the court[131] held that this was in violation of the law of 1854. This law was repealed in 1881,[132] and it was thereafter unlawful to make any distinction whatever on account of race or color. The next year, it was held[133] that the school directors could not keep open schools for Negroes exclusively.
A West Virginia law[134] of 1865 required the boards of education to establish separate schools for Negroes where there were more than thirty children of that race in the district. But if the average daily attendance was less than fifteen for a month, the school should be discontinued for any period not exceeding six months. If there were less than thirty children in the district or the attendance was less than fifteen, the money should be reserved and used for colored education as the board thought best. A statute[135] of 1871 and the Constitution[136] of 1872 provided that white and colored persons should not be taught together. A separate school for Negroes must be established when the number in the district exceeds twenty-five. If less, the trustees of two or more districts may establish a joint school. The Supreme Court[137] of that State has held that the constitutional provision requiring separate schools does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment, but that the terms of the schools of both races must be of the same length. Thus, West Virginia is as strict as Virginia or any Southern State in separating the races in schools.
Wyoming has the following statute[138]: "When there are fifteen or more colored children within any school district, the board of directors thereof, with the approval of the county superintendent of schools, may provide
