The Archdiocese of Denver, a group of Catholic preschools, and a Catholic family has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if the state is discriminating against them, reports The Christian Post. The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, started as a federal lawsuit in filed in 2023 after the state of Colorado implemented its new preschool program.
The Colorado Universal Preschool Program Act allows preschool students to attend for free at select schools. A Catholic parish in Littleton and another in Lakewood claim that they are discriminated from participating in the program for not following along with an LBGT nondiscrimination statement due to religious reasons.
The case was recently heard in September by three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Their ruling upheld the state’s decision, claiming that the rights of the parish preschools' freedom of religion and speech were not violated.
Nick Reaves, senior counsel of Becket, says that they're petitioning the Supreme Court because the 10th Circuit decided in favor of the government.
"We think the 10th Circuit made a number of mistakes in the decision. They ignored some binding Supreme Court precedent, and they continued attempts by lower courts to evade or ignore the Supreme Court, which has been crystal clear that you can't exclude religious schools from government funding programs," explains Reaves.
He says that the policy to exclude Catholic or religious families from the program is taking a toll.
"Two schools have closed during this litigation. Families who want to send their kids to Catholic schools are forced to pay thousands of dollars a year while other families down the street, who are picking whatever secular or private school they want, are doing so at the state's expense," informs Reaves.
Reaves says that, because this type of thing is happening around the country, he thinks that the court will be interested in this case.
