Supreme Court Hears Colorado Catholic Schools’ Aid Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the Colorado Catholic preschool case on November third.

By Career Ahead AI · United States — AI-assisted, fact-verified against cited sources. Readers should verify key facts.

Colorado’s aid program requires equal-opportunity enrollment

The case concerns a Colorado state program that lets private preschools receive taxpayer funding if they provide children an “equal opportunity” to enroll, including children of gay and transgender parents. The Archdiocese of Denver argues that this condition conflicts with its religious mission and its members’ First Amendment rights. Two Catholic schools, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, are also part of the challenge.^¹²³

Colorado voters approved the universal prekindergarten program in 2020. The state pays for at least fifteen hours of free preschool each week at public or private preschools, including religious ones, when they meet program requirements such as the nondiscrimination agreement. The case concerns aid for eligible four-year-olds, with up to fifteen preschool hours each week. Providers can take part only if they satisfy the conditions attached to the public funding.^¹²³

The archdiocese says the rule conflicts with its school community

In 2023, the archdiocese directed its preschools not to register for the program, saying its requirements ran counter to its views on sexuality and gender identity. Teachers, other staff members and parents at its schools sign a “statement of community beliefs” acknowledging that the archdiocese does not recognize same-sex relationships or transgender status. School officials said enrolling children of gay and transgender parents would “likely lead to intractable conflicts.”^¹²³

Colorado voters approved the universal prekindergarten program in 2020.

The lawsuit says Colorado is excluding hundreds of families across thirty-four preschools overseen by the archdiocese. The archbishop of Denver said enrollment was down 20 percent and two preschools had closed, as parents withdrew their children and enrolled them in schools receiving public funding. That account links the participation dispute to enrollment and closures at the archdiocese’s preschools, alongside the families’ challenge to the state’s rule.^¹²³

You may also like

Education & University Insights

Universities Receive Gifts from Donors Tied to Other Schools

Stephen M. Ross, the University of Michigan’s largest individual donor, also pledged $50 million for a Vanderbilt outpost in Florida.

Read More →

Dan and Lisa Sheley, a couple with seven children, say they have missed out on at least $18,000 in tuition assistance. Lisa Sheley said they voted for the program believing it would be universal. In a separate account of the family’s lost preschool tuition, Dan Sheley said the amount was $24,000. A Colorado mother also said her family lost about $12,000 in preschool benefits because her children attend a Catholic school. Erika Nagle, a parent, estimated her family’s lost pre-K tuition at $18,000.^¹²³

The state says faith-based providers can participate

Jared Polis, Colorado’s Democratic governor, said state officials intentionally included faith-based groups when they created the program. At least seventy-nine faith-based providers participated in the last school year, serving at least two thousand and fifty-two students and receiving more than $9.5 million in payments. Those figures show that religious providers have received program funding when they meet its requirements, while the Archdiocese of Denver’s preschools have stayed out of the program under its direction.^¹²³

Colorado’s lawyers argued that the anti-discrimination requirements do not interfere with schools’ religious beliefs because schools remain free to teach what they choose about sex, marriage, gender and family. The state’s position is that the enrollment condition addresses access to publicly funded preschool, rather than controlling what schools teach. Its lawyers said a school needs only to refrain from excluding a child “simply because their parents are gay.”^¹²³

In court filings, the department said UPK’s equal-opportunity requirements assure Colorado parents that children will not be turned away from publicly funded preschool because of protected-class status.¹²³

Scott Skinner-Thompson, a law professor at the University of Colorado, said states have long had the power to impose conditions on recipients of taxpayer funds, including requirements to comply with nondiscrimination rules. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood declined to comment on active litigation. In court filings, the department said UPK’s equal-opportunity requirements assure Colorado parents that children will not be turned away from publicly funded preschool because of protected-class status.^¹²³

Lower courts upheld Colorado’s funding condition

You may also like

Education & University Insights

Irish High Court Overturns Gazan Student Visa Refusal

The judge said officials overlooked evidence of English proficiency and a financial summary form; the application must be reconsidered.

Read More →

After a three-day trial, a federal judge said in 2024 that states may not decline to fund religious schools, but are “not obligated to subsidize discrimination using taxpayer dollars, even when that discrimination is based on religious beliefs.” A unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld that decision last year, citing a Supreme Court precedent limiting First Amendment protections for religious practices.^¹²³

The archdiocese’s lawyers are from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Nick Reaves, a lawyer representing the school, parents and archdiocese, said Catholic schools wanted to join the program and Colorado wanted them to participate, but that the schools could not compromise their beliefs. Earlier Supreme Court decisions form part of the dispute’s legal context: in 2021, the court unanimously allowed a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia to refuse to work with same-sex couples applying to foster children. In 2022, it said states that subsidize private schools may not exclude or discriminate against religious ones.^¹²³

Public funds carry strings for faith-based jobs

If you work for a faith-based school or nonprofit, this case shows that taxpayer money can come with enrollment conditions that override your employer's religious rules. The Colorado program pays for 15 hours of preschool weekly, but only for providers that accept children of gay and transgender parents. That means a role at a religious preschool may hinge on accepting families your employer's beliefs exclude, and your pay could depend on that compliance.^¹²³

For parents, the stakes are direct: families in this dispute lost between $12,000 and $24,000 in tuition assistance because their children attended Catholic schools that opted out. Before choosing a preschool, check whether it participates in state-funded programs, since a school's religious stance can cost you thousands in benefits. If you work in early childhood education, expect hiring to shift toward providers that meet nondiscrimination rules to keep public funding.^¹²³

If you work in early childhood education, expect hiring to shift toward providers that meet nondiscrimination rules to keep public funding.¹²³