A law[448] of Nevada of 1865 excluded Negroes, Mongolians, and Indians from the public schools, and prescribed as a punishment to the school opening its doors to all races a withdrawal of its share of the public school fund. The school officials might, however, if they deemed it advisable, establish a separate school for the children of Negroes, Mongolians, and Indians, to be supported out of the public school fund. In 1872 it was held[449] that a _mandamus_ would lie compelling trustees to admit colored persons to the public schools where separate schools were not provided for such persons. No subsequent reference to the subject appears in the statutes or reports, so it may be assumed that separate schools no longer exist in Nevada.
A statute[450] of New Jersey of 1881 made it unlawful to exclude anyone from the public school on account of “religion, nationality, or color.” The town of Burlington had four public schools, one of which had been set apart for Negroes. A Negro petitioned for a writ of _mandamus_ to compel the trustees to admit his children to the white schools, and the court[451] issued the writ. About four years ago the public schools of East Orange, New Jersey, adopted the policy of teaching the Negro pupils in separate classes; but it was soon abandoned because, the school authorities said, “it seemed like going back to old ideas.”[452]
The city of Buffalo, New York, under a provision of its charter, established separate schools for Negroes, and this action was upheld by the court[453] on the ground that the right to attend common schools is a legislative grant and not a constitutional guarantee. The city of Albany also set apart one school for Negroes, and this was held[454] constitutional in 1872. And in 1883, the Supreme Court[455] of that State held that, if separate schools are provided for colored children, they may be excluded from the white schools. In 1899, the same was held[456] for the Borough of Queens. These decisions were under the law of 1864,[457] reënacted in 1894,[458] which gave power to the school authorities of cities and incorporated villages, when they deemed it expedient, to establish separate schools. But this law was repealed in 1900,[459] and the present law reads: “No person shall be refused admission to or be excluded from any public school in the State of New York on account of race or color.”