Colpa Lauds Court Ruling on Grant of State Funds to College Building Programs

A New Jersey Supreme Court unanimous ruling this week that the grant of state funds to college building programs does not violate the church-state separation principle, even if the colleges are religiously-affiliated, was lauded by Julius Berman, president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs. The state funds are provided under the New Jersey Higher Educational Facilities Authority Law. Mr. Berman said that the decision handed down Monday, continued “the overwhelming trend that has been set in recent years in both federal and state courts upholding legitimate governmental aid to the secular programs of religiously-affiliated educational institutions.” He expressed confidence that if the New Jersey decision was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, as a number of decisions on the Issue in various states now are being appealed, “it will be vindicated and the principle will be more firmly established that governments have a responsibility to assist all children, even those attending religiously-affiliated schools.”