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Supreme Court Appears Ready to Side With Catholic Preschools in Colorado
· Confirmed
In Short: The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared poised to rule in favor of Catholic preschools in Colorado, which are challenging the state's refusal to exempt them from a nondiscrimination requirement.
Supreme Court of the United States (Wikidata P18).
During arguments, Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Colorado's deputy solicitor general, Helen Norton, if the state could exclude Catholic schools from the universal preschool program.
Norton argued that Colorado applies the same standards to all preschools, including teacher training and equal opportunity.
The Archdiocese of Denver and two Catholic preschools sued the state, claiming they were excluded from the universal preschool program because they could not exclude LGBTQ+ children and parents.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned whether the Catholic groups were seeking a 'special rule' that would allow them to discriminate against families based on protected characteristics.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh inquired why Colorado had refused an exemption when over 2,000 preschools participate in the program.
The plaintiffs argue that the state's universal preschool requirements violate their First Amendment right to practice their religion.
Colorado launched the universal preschool program in 2023, providing families with up to 15 hours of free preschool per week.
The court's conservative majority seemed inclined to see Colorado's refusal to grant an accommodation as a violation of the religious rights of the Archdiocese of Denver and other plaintiffs under the Constitution's First Amendment.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision by the end of June.
The case centers on Colorado’s universal preschool program, which offers children 15 hours a week of tuition-free preschool in the year before kindergarten.
What this adds
The plaintiffs, including the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic parishes, and two parents, argue that Colorado's universal preschool program discriminates against religious institutions by requiring them to admit all children regardless of their parents' sexual orientation or gender identity.
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.
Background
The plaintiffs, including the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic parishes, and two parents, argue that Colorado's universal preschool program discriminates against religious institutions by requiring them to admit all children regardless of their parents' sexual orientation or gender identity.
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.
What's confirmed
- When Colorado was preparing to implement the program, the Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees 34 Catholic preschools, sought an exemption from the nondiscrimination rule, since they only enroll families that align with the Catholic Church's teachings, including on marriage, family and sexual identity.
What's still developing
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Archdiocese and its preschools are asking for a "special rule" that would allow them to turn away students based on their or their parents' sexual orientation or gender identity. Colorado's universal preschool program launched after voters in the state approved a ballot measure in 2020 to provide state funding for a new program that intended to make preschool "widely available for free" to all 4-year-olds in the state.
- Attorneys for the schools and the state Tuesday argued before the Supreme Court about whether Colorado’s anti-discrimination policies improperly target Catholic schools for their sincerely held beliefs, violating the free exercise clause of the First Amendment, or if Colorado applied the requirement universally with no intention to exclude the schools.
- The Supreme Court will weigh in on aspects of a 1990 ruling in another case that raised the question of religious exemptions to state laws.
- 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.
- Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices showed sympathy toward a challenge by Catholic groups to a Colorado law prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination at publicly funded preschools.
- State of play: Conservative interests have recently succeeded in court cases where religious rights have clashed with LGBT protections.
- Supreme Court appeared ready to support Catholic preschools challenging Colorado's anti-discrimination rules during arguments over whether religious schools should receive public preschool funding while following their beliefs about same-sex relationships and gender identity.
- "I'm not assuming animus" on the part of the state, she said.
- Over the past decade, the court has issued several rulings allowing religious schools and other faith-based groups to receive government assistance.
- The U.S. Supreme Court on March 31 ruled that a Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for minors triggers First Amendment concerns, siding with a licensed counselor who challenged the restriction as a limit on speech.
- Reaves said enrollment decisions are made individually and that all families, including Catholic families, must agree in good faith to the schools' statement of religious beliefs.
Sources
- CBS Newslink
- Coloradonewslinelink
- Law Commentarylink
- Metro Weeklylink
- NBC Newslink
- Scotusbloglink
- Sjvsunlink
- University Heraldlink
- WarpBeat — background on Supreme Court Hears Case on Catholic Preschools and State Funding link
- WarpBeat — background on Supreme Court Hears Case on Catholic Preschools and State Funding link