Christian Schools Ask Supreme Court to Address Colorado’s Pre-K Religious Discrimination
November 19, 2025
The U.S. Supreme Court has been petitioned by the Archdiocese of Denver, several Catholic preschools, and a Colorado family to determine whether Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program (UPK) unlawfully excluded them.
Christianity Daily reports that the Universal Preschool Act, enacted in 2022, allows eligible families to send their children to pre-K at no cost through approved providers across the state.
In a federal lawsuit initiated in 2023, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood contend that Colorado barred them from participating in the Universal Preschool Program Act because of their religious convictions.
According to the complaint, state officials rejected the parishes’ applications due to their admitted preference for Catholic families and their requirement that staff abide by Catholic teaching, including expectations related to sexuality.
The plaintiffs assert that the state of Colorado violated their First Amendment rights when it refused to admit the archdiocese’s 36 preschools to the UPK program based on their religious views regarding LGBT families and employees.
According to Christianity Daily the lawsuit states: “Specifically, the Department is purporting to require all preschool providers to accept any applicant without regard to a student or family’s religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and to prohibit schools from ‘discriminat[ing] against any person’ on the same bases.”
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously backed the state’s position in September, concluding that the UPK nondiscrimination rules “exist in harmony with the First Amendment and do not violate the Parish Preschools’ First Amendment rights.”
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents the preschools, says the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to determine early next year whether it will take up the case.
Photo: top, Credit: Pixabay/Mark Thomas