Opinion No. 21-2974
May 16, 1921
TO: Mr. John V. Conway, Superintendent Public Instruction, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Inspirational Institute Attendance in Lieu of Summer or County Institute Attendance.
OPINION
{*57} Replying to your letter of the 14th instant, asking if there is any legal authority whereby attendance upon a 5-day Inspirational Institute by a teacher may be accepted in the issuance of a teacher's certificate in place of the minimum of two weeks' attendance upon a county institute or summer school, I would advise you that:
By virtue of the provisions of section 4813, Code 1915, persons who expect to teach in this State are required "to attend at least two weeks of the county institute or to show a certificate of attendance upon some county institute or summer school approved by the superintendent of public instruction held within the year," before such persons shall be entitled to a teacher's certificate.
You will note that the act permits an attendance upon some county institute or summer school in place of the 2-weeks attendance at the county institute and I am of the opinion that such a certificate may be used as a substitute for a certificate showing attendance upon the county institute in the event that such former institute or summer school is approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
If the Inspirational Institutes mentioned in your letter are approved by you as being a proper substitute for the regular county institutes, there is no reason why certificates from such Inspirational Institutes cannot be accepted in lieu of the certificate from the regular county institute.