(1) Any hearing-impaired person who may be admitted into the school and supported as a beneficiary at the expense of the state shall be permitted to remain in the school for thirteen (13) years unless, in the judgment of the Board of Trustees of the Arkansas School for the Deaf, he or she shall be sooner discharged.
(2) The board of trustees is empowered to extend the term of such pupils as may be recommended by the superintendent from time to time beyond the original period of thirteen (13) years, either for further instruction with a view to entering college, or for perfecting themselves in their trades.
(3) However, no more than twenty (20) pupils shall be so recommended in one (1) year, nor any one (1) for more than three (3) years' extension.