Section 4206. Persons eligible for appointment as pupils to institutions for instruction of the blind

1. All blind persons of suitable age and  capacity and who shall have been residents in this state  for  one  year
  immediately  preceding  the  application or, if a minor, whose parent or
  parents, or, if an orphan, whose  nearest  friend,  shall  have  been  a
  resident   in   this  state  for  one  year  immediately  preceding  the
  application, shall be eligible for appointment as state  pupils  to  the
  New  York Institute for Special Education in the city of New York or the
  Lavelle School for the Blind in the city of New York.
    2. Blind babies and children of the age of fifteen years and under and
  possessing the other  qualifications  prescribed  in  this  article  and
  requiring  kindergarten  training or other special care and instruction,
  shall be eligible for appointment as state pupils by the commissioner of
  education at his discretion in any incorporated  institution  furnishing
  approved  care,  training and instruction for blind babies and children,
  and any such child may be transferred to  the  New  York  Institute  for
  Special  Education in the city of New York or the Lavelle School for the
  Blind in the city of New York, to which he or  she  would  otherwise  be
  eligible  for  appointment,  upon  arriving  at  suitable  age,  in  the
  discretion of the commissioner of education.
    3. All  such  appointments  shall  be  made  by  the  commissioner  of
  education.  The requirement of this section as to length of residence in
  this state may be waived  in  the  discretion  of  the  commissioner  of
  education.