Home · Faith · Nov 8 archive
Supreme Court Hears Case on Catholic Preschools and State Funding
Confirmed
In Short: The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether Colorado's universal preschool program discriminates against Catholic schools by requiring adherence to anti-discrimination policies.
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether Colorado's universal preschool program discriminates against Catholic schools by requiring adherence to anti-discrimination policies.
The Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees 34 Catholic preschools, sought an exemption from the nondiscrimination rule, arguing that it conflicts with their religious beliefs.
Colorado's program provides a $6,300 annual benefit per child for up to 15 hours a week of preschool, funded by a tobacco tax.
Colorado contends that the Catholic preschools violated its anti-discrimination rules, which prohibit schools from refusing admission to any child based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child or their family.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that with 2,000 preschools in Colorado, families have ample options and the state can respect both religious beliefs and the rights of LGBTQ+ parents.
Chief Justice John Roberts remarked that the effect of Colorado’s law seemed “pretty much the same” as a Maine law the court struck down in its 2022 Carson v. Makin decision.
Justice Elena Kagan questioned whether excluding children of same-sex couples from Catholic preschools because of their sexual orientation or gender identity creates a problem.
The case could further narrow the 1990 Supreme Court decision Employment Division v. Smith, which found that religious practices do not create exemptions from laws that apply broadly.
The court's conservative majority seemed inclined to side with the Catholic preschools, potentially allowing them access to public funding despite their refusal to guarantee admission to children of same-sex couples.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by June 2027.
What this adds
The case could further narrow the 1990 Supreme Court decision Employment Division v. Smith, which found that religious practices do not create exemptions from laws that apply broadly.
Background
Colorado provides state funding for tuition at public or private preschools, including faith-based institutions, but has withheld it from the Catholic preschools for violating anti-discrimination laws.
The plaintiffs, including the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic parishes, and two parents, Dan and Lisa Sheley, argue that their exclusion from Colorado’s universal preschool program is a form of religious discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.
What's confirmed
- A win for the Catholic preschools could further narrow a landmark 1990 Supreme Court decision, Employment Division v. Smith, which found religious practices don’t create exemptions from laws that otherwise apply broadly.
- The Catholic preschools say their enrollment has dropped 20% since the program started.
- The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new term on Oct. 5, 2026.
- Both the federal district court and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for Colorado.
What's still developing
- If the Catholic plaintiffs prevail, the decision would join a line of recent rulings in which the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has sided with religious institutions challenging their exclusion from state programs, opening the door for more public dollars to flow to religious schools.
- In a notable ruling in 2021, the court ruled that a Catholic group could not be barred from a Philadelphia foster care program because of its views opposing same-sex couples.
- He noted that the laws in other cases involving public benefits had been neutral, rather than discriminating against religious people or organizations – for example, the court’s 1963 decision in Sherbert v. Verner, reversing a ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court that had rejected a constitutional challenge to the denial of employment benefits from a Seventh-day Adventist whose religion barred her from working on Saturday.
- In the 2018 case, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado, a baker sued the state government, claiming that he had a free speech right and a religious free exercise right to refuse to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.
- Colorado argues those arrangements comply with its anti-discrimination rules.
- To deliver on that promise, the state allowed both public and private providers – including faith-based preschools – to participate, provided they abide by the program’s rules.
- The Supreme Court addressed one such conflict in a case decided in 1983, Bob Jones University v. U.S..
- The high court is starting its term with a major climate change case.
- 5, 2026) Billions of dollars are potentially at stake in a case out of Boulder, Colorado, where local officials say the industry should help shoulder the escalating costs of disasters linked to climate change.