The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case brought by Catholic preschools in Colorado challenging their exclusion from the state’s universal preschool program. The dispute centers on whether the state’s refusal to provide an exemption to allow selective admissions violates First Amendment protections for religious exercise.
According to reporting, families in Colorado can receive up to 15 hours of free preschool per week at participating schools. Preschools that join must meet state standards and sign a nondiscrimination agreement requiring eligible children be given equal opportunity to enroll regardless of characteristics including sexual orientation and gender identity, among other factors. The Catholic preschools argue the exclusion is religious discrimination because they would be required to admit everyone, including LGBTQ children and children with LGBTQ parents.
Colorado, by contrast, says the preschools remain welcome to participate in the program but must comply with the same equal-opportunity requirements applied to other publicly funded preschools, both secular and religious. Outlets vary in emphasis: some frame the case primarily as a religious-freedom issue with wider implications, while SCOTUS-focused coverage details the program’s eligibility rules and the competing arguments from both sides.
