Supreme Court to Hear Case on Colorado's Exclusion of Catholic Schools from Preschool Program

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last month to hear the case St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, which challenges Colorado's universal preschool program. The program offers free preschool to families at public or private schools of their choice, but excludes Catholic schools unless they abandon admissions practices based on religious convictions.

Colorado's policy states that schools accepting state funds cannot limit admissions to families who support Catholic teachings on biological sex and marriage.

The Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that governments cannot exclude entities from public benefits due to religious beliefs or exercise. These include Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer in 2017, Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue in 2020, and Carson v.

Makin in 2022. Colorado has lost three major Supreme Court cases since 2018 related to free exercise of religion or free speech grounded in religious belief.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission that the state's commission treated cake artist Jack Phillips with hostility toward his religious beliefs. In 2023, the court ruled 6-3 in 303 Creative LLC v.

Elenis that the state could not compel graphic designer Lorie Smith to create websites celebrating same-sex weddings, citing prohibitions on compelled speech and viewpoint discrimination. In March, the justices ruled 8-1 in Chiles v. Salazar to strike down Colorado's application of a conversion therapy ban that blocked counselor Kaley Chiles from providing consensual talk therapy aligned with clients' moral beliefs about sexuality.

Two Catholic preschools in Colorado have closed due to the exclusion from the program. Preschool enrollment across the Archdiocese of Denver has declined by about 20%. The Supreme Court is expected to decide the St. Mary Catholic Parish case, potentially addressing whether Colorado's policy violates established precedents on religious freedom.