In a significant step in support of immigrant rights, the Cambridge City Council approved a measure Monday night that will allow non-citizens to vote in local school committee elections.

The council voted 5-3 to pass the measure on to the State Legislature for approval. The proposal has been under consideration since the early 1990s.

"When elected officials are preaching about representation and participation, what could be more fundamental than allowing parents to have say about the education of their children?" said Cambridge Councilor Jim Braude, who supported the measure.

Those who oppose extending voting rights to non-citizens lobbied hard against the measure.

"I agree with the established process of immigrants gaining citizenship and, with that, the right to vote," said Joe Grassi, a school committee member who opposed the measure.

But those who supported the measure have long claimed that immigrants' right to vote is delayed because they must cut through so much red tape to become citizens.

"Some people apply for citizenship when their kids enter kindergarten, and when their kids have graduated from high school they still don't have their citizenship," Braude said.

While considering the measure, the council heard testimony from more than 100 non-citizens concerning the difficulties of obtaining citizenship.