Advocates for religious schools want Pennsylvania lawmakers to bar the state from regulating programs and faculty members at church-run pre-schools and nursery schools.
The House Education Committee conducted a hearing Tuesday on the proposal.
Philip Murren, counsel for the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, joined leaders of other groups in saying the state Department of Public Welfare's authority should be limited to matters involving health and safety.
They say decisions involving programs, teacher training and curriculum should be left up to the schools, as they are for K-12 religious schools.
The only opposition came from the nonprofit group Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, which says regulation of the schools in question should be transferred from DPW to the state Education Department.
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