High Court to Hear Colorado Preschool Funding Challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday it will take up a dispute over a Colorado requirement tied to state-funded preschool participation, putting a First Amendment challenge on the Court’s docket. The case centers on whether preschools that accept state money must enroll children of same-sex couples under Colorado’s nondiscrimination rules. The review sets up a legal test between religious free-exercise claims and LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections within a state education program.

The challenge was brought by two Catholic parishes and a family, who argue that Colorado’s nondiscrimination provision violates the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. The provision is part of Colorado’s 2020 universal preschool program, which allows both public and private schools to participate. Participation, however, is conditioned on compliance with a nondiscrimination clause that includes protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Catholic parishes are represented by Becket, described as a religious public interest firm. They contend the nondiscrimination requirement conflicts with their religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality. In their view, the state’s condition on funding forces religious preschools to choose between receiving public support and operating in line with their faith-based standards.

A central legal argument in the appeal is that Colorado’s rule is not “generally applicable,” because the program includes secular exceptions. The challengers point to examples such as preferences for low-income children or children with disabilities, arguing these carve-outs weaken the claim that the nondiscrimination condition applies evenly across the board.

They say that distinction matters under a 1990 precedent that permits laws affecting religion to stand when they apply equally to religious and secular conduct.

The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case comes as the Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has in recent years sided with religious interests, including in disputes involving educational funding. The Colorado case will be watched closely by public and private education providers that rely on state support, as well as by religious institutions assessing how nondiscrimination requirements interact with participation in government programs.

The Court is expected to hear the appeal in the fall, and a ruling is anticipated next year. Separately, the Court declined to take up another prominent dispute involving a Massachusetts couple who alleged their child’s school treated them as genderqueer against their wishes. That denial leaves the Colorado case as the Court’s next major vehicle for addressing the boundaries between religious objections and LGBTQ+ protections in an education setting.