Oregon is poised to become the 48th state to permit teachers to wear headscarves and other religious dress in school, ending an 87-year ban that was originally intended to keep Catholic nuns out of public schools.
The 51-8 vote by the state’s House of Representatives is the first decision toward repealing Oregon’s ban on religious garb. If passed, Nebraska and Pennsylvania would be the only remaining states to prohibit religious clothing.
If approved, the Oregon law would take effect in 2011. Before that, the state’s education and labor agencies would hammer out rules designed to protect students from religious coercion while allowing observant Muslim women, Sikhs and Orthodox Jewish men to teach in Oregon classrooms.