A day after being critical of the idea, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is drafting a bill that would override Mayor Michael Bloomberg and allow churches to stay in city schools. NY1’s Zack Fink filed the following report.

The State Senate passed a bill Monday that would allow churches to continue renting space in New York City public schools. It’s a practice that has been allowed since 2002, but the city is threatening to end it next week.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was noncommittal about sponsoring similar legislation in the Assembly, and he called the state Senate version “seriously flawed,” adding that the language in the Senate bill could open up renting school space to groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

But in an apparent reversal, the speaker confirmed Tuesday that a bill is in the works.

“Actually, we’re working with the Assembly. I talked to Sheldon Silver this morning. He’s putting together a bill that he will send over, an amendment, and we will work out an agreement over the next couple of days,” said State Senator Martin Golden.

The Bloomberg administration is opposed to changing the city’s policy. Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott was in Albany Monday to lobby against the Senate bill.

(Source: NY1)