Julius Berman, president of the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA), today praised the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which permits Connecticut to continue the use of public funds to aid parochial schools pending an appeal of a lower court order to halt such aid. The state aid consists of funds towards the salaries of teachers of secular subjects and the cost of textbooks. Berman welcomed the ruling handed down yesterday as “an indication that the Supreme Court appreciates the financial plight of parochial schools and considers public aid an open question. COLPA has always felt,” he continued, “that formulas may be developed to provide state aid in full consonance with the American concept of the separation of church and state. The Connecticut statute is one such formula.” Noting that the Supreme Court is currently hearing three cases on various aspects of the total question of governmental aid to parochial schools, Berman stated that COLPA, which has filed briefs in two of the cases, was “optimistic the court will rule in favor of granting such aid.”
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