The proposed “release plan” to allow children in this state time from their public school studies for religious instruction was given a third reading yesterday by the House of Representatives, which refused to kill the measure after protracted debate, voting 96 to 68 to send the bill to the next session of the General Court.
Members of the Greater Boston Rabbinical Association, representing Orthodox, Conservative and Reform elements in the community, oppose the bill. Similar opposition has been expressed by Louis Hurwich, acting dean of the Hebrew Teachers College.
Jewish leaders recently pointed out, at a hearing sponsored by the Legislature, that the Jewish community has built up an efficient system of Jewish religious education which does not interfere with the public school curriculum. It is felt that should the release plan be adopted it would weaken the established Jewish educational system.
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