Jewish organizations and leaders here hailed yesterday the enactment of a State law which prohibits racial or religious discrimination by educational institutions supported wholly or in part by public funds or by contributions solicited from the public.
The act, introduced by Assemblyman Samuel Weisman, is in the form of an amendment to the civil rights law. It was signed by Governor Lehman Monday.
Under the amended act, which went into effect yesterday, the following classifications of institutions are included: public libraries, kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, academies, colleges, universities, professional schools, extension courses and all other educational facilities “supported in whole or in part by public funds or by contributions solicited from the general public.”
The old law applied simply to “all educational institutions under the supervision of the Regents of the State of New York.
Opposition to the bill, when it was introduced into the Assembly, was voiced chiefly by Dr. Dixon Ryan Fox, president of Union College, who charged that the bill would “prevent a private school or college from determining its own character.”
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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.
