"To Thee We Sing"

When the New York State Board of Regents first proposed that the public schools start each day with a prayer (TIME, Dec. 10), there were so many protests from parents and other interested parties that, out of 3,000 school districts, only 300 adopted the prayer.

In Manhattan, where reaction was particularly strong, the school board decided to dump the whole plan. Last week Arthur Levitt, school board member, suggested another idea: Why not substitute the prayerful hymn America?

Last week a special interfaith committee of Protestants, Jews and Catholics formally okayed the last stanza in place of a spoken prayer. If all goes according to plan, New York's schoolchildren will soon begin each day, just as most of their parents once did, by singing:

"Our fathers' God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing:

Long may our land be bright With freedom's holy light; Protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King!"

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