Leaders of nine civic, religious and school groups — including non-Jewish as well as Jewish organizations — sent an appeal to Gov. Rockefeller today, requesting him to veto a bill passed last week by the New York State Legislature on aid to private and parochial schools in the provision of textbooks to pupils.
Under the measure as adopted, local school boards in New York State would be required to lend textbooks to pupils in parochial and private schools, with state funds reimbursing the local boards for such expenditures.
According to the appellants, the textbook “lending” bill would: “1) threaten the integrity of the public school system; 2) imperil the constitutional safeguards of separation of church and state; 3) delay further progress to end segregation in the public schools.”
A number of Jewish Orthodox organizations supported the bill adopted in Albany. Among the opponents who asked Gov. Rockefeller to veto the measure are the American Jewish Congress, American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, Protestant Council of the City of New York, United Parents Association, the New York Civil Liberties Union, the Citizens Committee for Children of New York, the Public Education Association, and the Urban League of Greater New York.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
