Jewish Groups Study Johnson’s Plan for Parochial Sharing in School Aid

Major Jewish organizations which are opposed to Federal aid to religious schools today studied the expanded aid to-education program proposed yesterday to Congress by President Johnson. Among other things, the President’s program provides for some form of aid to parochial and private schools, and endorses “shared time” practices in schools to which Jewish groups and others interested in the principle of church-state separation, are opposed.

The attitude of the Jewish organizations affiliated with the National Community Relations Advisory Council–which includes the American Jewish Congress, the Jewish Labor Committee, the Jewish War Veterans and central bodies of Jewish religious groups and other organizations–will not be made known before February 7, when the NCRAC executive committee will meet on the subject, it was indicated here today. These organizations have previously gone on records as opposing Federal aid to parochial schools as well as the “shared time” practices.

The National Education Association, long a foremost opponent of public assistance to private and parochial schools, came out today in support of the Johnson education program. Robert E. Mckay, chairman of the NEA’s legislative committee, said that “we do not interpret this as being aid to parochial and private schools.” James L. McCaskill, executive secretary of the NEA, acknowledged, however, that the Johnson proposals for Federal aid to parochial and private schools for purchase of textbooks and educational materials were “troublesome.”

Supporters of the Johnson program said tonight that most of the proposals for textbook and library purchases could represent direct aid to these schools. If Congress accepts these proposals, it is expected to write in strict guarantees that the textbooks to be paid for out of Federal funds be the same as those used in the public schools, not religiously oriented texts.

The Church-State Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union has concluded that “shared time” programs permitting parochial and private school pupils to use certain public school facilities on a part-time basis “do not inherently result in constitutional or civil liberties violations involving the principles of the First Amendment’s guarantee of mutual independence between religion and government.” The committee report was published in the January issue of “Civil Liberties,” the organization’s monthly publication. The publication also carried a strongly dissenting statement by Byron S. Miller, of Chicago, who challenged the committee’s conclusions on constitutionality.

Senator Wayne Morse, Democrat of Oregon, announced that he would open hearing’s on the legislation next week before his Education subcommittee. He pledged his full support of the president’s program. Senator Jacob K. Javits, Republican of New York, termed the President’s bill “the most comprehensive and far-reaching education program ever sent to Congress.” He is the ranking member of the Senate Labor and Welfare Committee that will handle the legislation.