NSW Labor will not strike scripture from school hours in the public system if it takes power in the next election.
Former state education minister and Public Education Foundation chief executive Verity Firth urged her party colleagues to vote on a motion at the NSW Labor Conference that would ensure classroom time would not be used for scripture.
"Faith plays an important role in education," Ms Firth told the conference on Sunday.
"But it's a big leap to say every public school should quarantine 30 minutes to an hour each week."
Ms Firth said ethics classes, introduced as an alternative to scripture in 2011, were only available to 30 per cent of schools and parents were rarely aware of the secular option.
She said the motion would overturn an outdated partnership between church and state and promote inclusion.
But the opposition's education spokesman Jihad Dib said the motion would "throw the baby out with the bath water".
"Ethics classes are an excellent alternative to scripture but this is not a better way," he said.
Mr Dib said the motion was too extreme and issues like the growing school maintenance backlog and dependence on demountable classrooms should take priority.
He urged the conference to vote down the motion and it was defeated.
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