Supreme Court to hear Catholic preschool case on Colorado's universal pre-K on Tuesday

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a case that pits the Catholic Church against Colorado's taxpayer-funded preschool program for 4-year-olds. The question is whether religious schools may turn away children of gay and trans parents, despite a state law that bars that kind of discrimination ¹.

The case is St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. It began when a Catholic preschool in Littleton, Colorado, challenged its exclusion from the state's universal preschool program. Colorado will not exempt it from rules requiring it to admit all children, including LGBTQ children and children with LGBTQ parents ².

How Colorado's program works

Colorado pays $6,300 a year for each child enrolled. The money comes from a tobacco tax ¹. The state chose to include religious schools, as long as they follow a state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity ¹.

Many religious schools take part. Catholic Charities participates, along with at least 35 Christian schools, one Muslim school and three Jewish schools ¹. State Rep. Emily Sirota, a prime sponsor of the bill, said the Catholic Church initially endorsed the program ¹.

Steve Fenberg, who was president of the state Senate when the program passed, described the one condition.

The caveat is that you can't discriminate, and you need to allow all students to participate

The church's argument

The Denver Archdiocese and two parishes sued. They are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, whose CEO, Mark Rienzi, says the law discriminates against Catholic schools ¹.

They're only excluding religious schools that are organized around beliefs that Colorado doesn't like. And that's the constitutional problem

Archbishop James R. Golka wrote in the Denver Post that enrollment in Catholic schools is down 20% across the archdiocese and that two preschools have closed ¹. The archdiocese's schools superintendent, Scott Elmer, said "it's very rare" for LGBTQ parents to try to enroll their children ¹.

Not all Catholic educators back the church's position. Tim Uhl, who has held leadership posts in Catholic school systems in seven states, is among a group of Catholic school directors who filed a brief siding with Colorado ¹.

What the courts have done so far

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the preschool's argument. It found Colorado's conditions neutral and applicable to all preschools. Under a 1990 Supreme Court decision, Employment Division v. Smith, such laws normally do not violate the Constitution ².

The justices agreed on April 20 to hear the case. They declined to reconsider the Smith decision ². A ruling is not expected for months.

Why it matters

The court's conservative majority has shifted from stressing the separation of church and state toward protecting the free exercise of religion, according to NPR ¹. Michigan State law professor Frank Ravitch called it "a complete shift" ¹.

Last year the court split evenly on whether taxpayer-funded charter schools could be religious. Justice Amy Coney Barrett sat out that case, so it was dropped. She has not recused herself from this one ¹.

Berkeley Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky asked how far the court will go in requiring government to pay for religious schools ¹. A federal judge in Oklahoma recently allowed a taxpayer-funded Jewish charter school to open with $2.6 million in state money. Its fate is unsettled ¹.

The pattern to watch is whether public money can come with fewer anti-discrimination strings when a religious group is the recipient. The Bob Jones University ruling of 1983 went the other way on race. Law professor Douglas Laycock said it is unclear the court will reach a similar result now ¹.

The Record

1. Jan 1, 1983The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that Bob Jones University should lose its tax-exempt status over its ban on interracial dating ¹.
2. Apr 20, 2026The Supreme Court agreed to hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy but declined to revisit Employment Division v. Smith ².
3. Nov 3, 2026Oral argument is scheduled before the full court ¹.

Free to reprint Republish this story on your site or in your newsletter

Any site, blog or newsletter may run this story free of charge. Keep the credit line and its link to the original, do not sell it, and edit only for length or house style (the full terms). Photos carry their own licenses, noted under each photo on this page, so use the text alone unless a credit says otherwise.

<h2>Supreme Court to hear Catholic preschool case on Colorado&#39;s universal pre-K on Tuesday</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Courts Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/supreme-court-to-hear-catholic-preschool-case-on-colorado-s-universal-pre-k-on-tuesday">The GOP Files</a> on Sunday, November 1, 2026.</em></p> <p>The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Tuesday in a case that pits the Catholic Church against Colorado&#39;s taxpayer-funded preschool program for 4-year-olds. The question is whether religious schools may turn away children of gay and trans parents, despite a state law that bars that kind of discrimination .</p> <p>The case is St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. It began when a Catholic preschool in Littleton, Colorado, challenged its exclusion from the state&#39;s universal preschool program. Colorado will not exempt it from rules requiring it to admit all children, including LGBTQ children and children with LGBTQ parents .</p> <h2>How Colorado&#39;s program works</h2> <p>Colorado pays $6,300 a year for each child enrolled. The money comes from a tobacco tax . The state chose to include religious schools, as long as they follow a state law that bars discrimination based on race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity .</p> <p>Many religious schools take part. Catholic Charities participates, along with at least 35 Christian schools, one Muslim school and three Jewish schools . State Rep. Emily Sirota, a prime sponsor of the bill, said the Catholic Church initially endorsed the program .</p> <p>Steve Fenberg, who was president of the state Senate when the program passed, described the one condition.</p> <blockquote><p>The caveat is that you can&#39;t discriminate, and you need to allow all students to participate</p><p>&mdash; Steve Fenberg, former president of the Colorado state Senate</p></blockquote> <h2>The church&#39;s argument</h2> <p>The Denver Archdiocese and two parishes sued. They are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, whose CEO, Mark Rienzi, says the law discriminates against Catholic schools .</p> <blockquote><p>They&#39;re only excluding religious schools that are organized around beliefs that Colorado doesn&#39;t like. And that&#39;s the constitutional problem</p><p>&mdash; Mark Rienzi, CEO, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty</p></blockquote> <p>Archbishop James R. Golka wrote in the Denver Post that enrollment in Catholic schools is down 20% across the archdiocese and that two preschools have closed . The archdiocese&#39;s schools superintendent, Scott Elmer, said &quot;it&#39;s very rare&quot; for LGBTQ parents to try to enroll their children .</p> <p>Not all Catholic educators back the church&#39;s position. Tim Uhl, who has held leadership posts in Catholic school systems in seven states, is among a group of Catholic school directors who filed a brief siding with Colorado .</p> <h2>What the courts have done so far</h2> <p>The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the preschool&#39;s argument. It found Colorado&#39;s conditions neutral and applicable to all preschools. Under a 1990 Supreme Court decision, Employment Division v. Smith, such laws normally do not violate the Constitution .</p> <p>The justices agreed on April 20 to hear the case. They declined to reconsider the Smith decision . A ruling is not expected for months.</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>The court&#39;s conservative majority has shifted from stressing the separation of church and state toward protecting the free exercise of religion, according to NPR . Michigan State law professor Frank Ravitch called it &quot;a complete shift&quot; .</p> <p>Last year the court split evenly on whether taxpayer-funded charter schools could be religious. Justice Amy Coney Barrett sat out that case, so it was dropped. She has not recused herself from this one .</p> <p>Berkeley Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky asked how far the court will go in requiring government to pay for religious schools . A federal judge in Oklahoma recently allowed a taxpayer-funded Jewish charter school to open with $2.6 million in state money. Its fate is unsettled .</p> <p>The pattern to watch is whether public money can come with fewer anti-discrimination strings when a religious group is the recipient. The Bob Jones University ruling of 1983 went the other way on race. Law professor Douglas Laycock said it is unclear the court will reach a similar result now .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/supreme-court-to-hear-catholic-preschool-case-on-colorado-s-universal-pre-k-on-tuesday">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/supreme-court-to-hear-catholic-preschool-case-on-colorado-s-universal-pre-k-on-tuesday.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

Copy the HTML Paste it into your editor's HTML view. The one-pixel image at the end tells our newsroom the story ran; it stores no reader data.

Sources

1. NPR, “Supreme Court hears religious freedom case centered on universal pre-K program” (2026-11-01). npr.org/2026/11/01/nx-s1-6000367/supreme-court-colorado-cath
2. SCOTUSblog, “Supreme Court will hear religious liberty case on Catholic preschools and LGBTQ families” (2026-04-20). scotusblog.com/2026/04/supreme-court-will-hear-religious-lib

Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.