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| BECKETT/YOUTUBE |
When a school’s practices flow directly from its religious beliefs, penalizing what it does is the same as penalizing what it believes.
or many families, there is a clear answer to the question of who they trust to help them raise their children: a school that shares their mission — a genuine partner in a child’s education. But some families in Colorado are being denied that opportunity, a case the Supreme Court will hear next term.
Colorado’s Universal Preschool program offers 15 free hours of preschool per week to every 4-year-old in the state — except those who choose a Catholic school. The state excluded them for refusing to sign a provider agreement that would violate their religious beliefs. Two parishes — St. Mary and St. Bernadette — the Archdiocese of Denver, and the Sheley family have challenged that exclusion.
The case turns on two questions. The first is whether Colorado’s program is truly open to everyone — or whether its many exceptions tell a different story. Colorado lets preschools restrict enrollment to children with disabilities, to low-income families, or to LGBT families. Yet when Catholic schools asked for a similar accommodation, the state said no. A program that bends for everyone except religious schools is not neutral — it is targeted, triggering the Constitution’s toughest legal test.
The second question is whether a state can achieve religious discrimination indirectly — not by saying, “Catholic schools need not apply,” but by attaching conditions it knows Catholic schools cannot meet. Colorado argues it excludes these preschools not for being Catholic, but for how they operate. That distinction does not hold. When a school’s practices flow directly from its religious beliefs, penalizing what it does is the same as penalizing what it believes. The Supreme Court has already said states cannot do this. Either way, Colorado must show a compelling reason for the exclusion — and a general interest in nondiscrimination isn’t enough.
Those are the questions the Supreme Court will wrestle with this fall. Some families waiting for answers have filed a brief with the court to share their stories.
Jill Hall built a florist business to pay for preschool at Our Lady of Lourdes in Denver after her family lost tuition assistance — and three of her children attended. Her youngest couldn’t attend because Colorado’s program left her outside the only option that made it affordable. “I’m not choosing something so extreme. I’m choosing just a faith,” Jill said, “and I’m being punished for that.”
Andy Abols is an account executive whose daughter Reese, 9, has spina bifida. The family stays in Colorado for her Medicaid coverage. He pays for his 4-year-old’s preschool at St. Mary’s out of pocket while his taxes fund free preschool for other families — every tuition dollar is a dollar not saved for Reese’s next surgery. “I’m moving backwards to protect our children’s minds and instill virtue,” he says. “Which I’m glad to do, but I shouldn’t have to.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photo courtesy of Becket |
The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether Colorado violated the First Amendment by excluding Catholic preschools from its universal preschool program.
A broad coalition including the U.S. solicitor general has lined up behind Colorado Catholic families and two Catholic preschools as the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether Colorado violated the First Amendment by excluding Catholic preschools from its universal preschool program because they operate according to Catholic teaching.
The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, challenges Colorado’s requirement that schools participating in its universal preschool program comply with state policies that the Catholic schools say would force them to violate religious beliefs about marriage, sexuality, and employment to receive public funding.
The U.S. solicitor general joined more than 20 states and 43 Republican members of Congress urging the high court to rule against Colorado’s “discriminatory exclusion” of the faith-based schools. The solicitor general argued that Colorado’s policy discriminates against religious exercise, imposes unconstitutional conditions on participation in a public benefit, and conflicts with recent precedents.
Colorado forces petitioners to choose, the solicitor general wrote. “They can either adhere to their faith, which precludes enrolling families who refuse to adhere to Catholic teachings, and lose the subsidy, or obtain the subsidy but abandon their religious beliefs,” the brief said.
Supreme Court to hear case
Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, part of the Archdiocese of Denver, along with several Catholic families, argue that the state cannot deny otherwise available public benefits simply because the schools remain faithful to their religious mission.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case this fall after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Colorado’s policy in September 2025 to exclude Catholic preschools because of their religious beliefs.
Broad coalition of support
Support for the Catholic families has continued to grow ahead of oral arguments. A total of 29 friend-of-the-court briefs have been filed urging the justices to rule in favor of the schools, including briefs by more than 20 states, religious liberty scholars, education advocates, and a broad coalition of faith groups.
Among those filing briefs is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). U.S. bishops stated that “if that decision stands, it will provide a roadmap for governments to circumvent this court’s decisions, directly threatening the free exercise rights of religious adherents and organizations.” --->READ MORE HEREFOLLOW LINK BELOW TO A RELEVANT STORY:
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