The American Jewish Congress warned today against continuing efforts by religious groups to win public funds for parochial schools. It said bills providing substantial state aid to non-public schools had been rejected in 1969 by 17 state legislatures but had been adopted in three states. It asserted that the drive for public aid, if successful, would deal “a devastating blow to our already hard-pressed public school system.”
What the AJC described as “substantial” victories in 1969 in obtaining public funds for parochial schools were reported in three states – Connecticut, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. The new laws there have already been challenged in the courts, the Congress said. Renewed efforts are to be expected in 1970, it said, in all the 17 states in which aid to church-related schools was defeated this year.
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