Supreme Court Takes Up Colorado Preschool Case Testing Religious Freedom

By Lindsay Whitehurst | The Denver Gazette

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear from Catholic preschools that say Colorado violated their religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded “universal” pre-kindergarten program over their admission policies.

The court agreed on Monday to take up the appeal from St. Mary Catholic Parish in its challenge against a state program. That challenge is supported by the Trump administration.

Joined by the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic institutions, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado, alleging their preschools cannot participate in the publicly funded program because the church’s religious views on sexual orientation and gender identify run afoul of state requirements. Two parishioners of St. Mary with a preschool-age child are also parties to the litigation.

The state said that religious schools are welcome to participate but are required to follow Colorado’s nondiscrimination laws. The program was created by a 2020 ballot measure and provides public funding for free preschool at centers selected by parents.

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