School boards in New Jersey which have continued to authorize Bible reading and recitation of the Lord’s Prayer were under stern notice today from the State Board of Education to “comply with the law forthwith” and end those practices.
The board declared in a resolution that the U.S. Supreme Court had banned such exercises in public schools and that the ruling was “the law of the land” and that schools had “the obligation” to “teach respect for law.” The resolution was aimed at three school boards, in Hawthorne, Middle Township and Berkeley Township, which voted to retain the religious observances. The Board did not say what action it would take to enforce compliance. Gov. Richard J. Hughes and his legal aides have been meeting on the problem.
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