From Interfaith Alliance: Today, The Interfaith Alliance alerted its members to an amendment to a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Head Start program that would allow government -funded Head Start providers to exercise religious discrimination in choosing teachers and volunteers. The School Readiness Act (H.R. 2123), is expected to be voted on by the full House of Representatives as soon as this Wednesday, September 21. Yesterday, the Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of The Interfaith Alliance, briefed Members of Congress and their staffs on the threats to religious liberty posed by the amendment. The amendment, Gaddy said, would subsidize religious discrimination with tax dollars, turning back civil rights protections that currently apply to nearly 200,000 Head Start teachers and over 1.4 million parent volunteers. “The levees have been broken, and the wall between church and state is cracking,” warned Gaddy.  “The Boustany amendment is just one example of political opportunists taking advantage of a national tragedy to institute policies that have not found enough support for passage in more normal times. “Religious organizations have had a long and proud history in their active participation in Head Start programs.  For years, houses of worship have made substantial contributions to their communities with the existing workplace protections in place. If those in Congress who seek to repeal these employment safeguards are successful, thousands of children, teachers and parent volunteers who have dedicated themselves to this program could find themselves no longer welcome at religiously-affiliated Head Start programs because they are of a different faith than the sponsoring organization.” Across the nation, members of The Interfaith Alliance are calling on their Members of Congress to reject any assault on civil rights protections in federally-funded programs, especially a program as critical as Head Start.   Initiated in 1965 in the wake of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, Head Start has been widely recognized as one of the most successful government programs ever created. It has provided early childhood education and development programs that have helped millions of low-income families overcome inequities for more than forty years.