Supreme Court weighs if Colorado program can force Christian preschools to adopt LGBT nondiscrimination rules

November 4, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a case which centers on whether Colorado can bar two Catholic parishes from a publicly funded preschool program because they refuse to adopt an LGBT nondiscrimination statement.

The Christian Post reports that the case of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, involves a Colorado state program that receives public and private funding and allows eligible students to attend pre-kindergarten free of charge at participating schools.

The controversy began with the equal opportunity requirement of the Universal Preschool Program, which mandates that participating preschools “provide eligible children an equal opportunity to enroll and receive services regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability, as such characteristics and circumstances apply to the child or the child’s family.”

The plaintiffs say the antidiscrimination provision interferes with their ability to require students and families to follow Catholic teaching on issues including marriage and sexuality.

Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel at the Becket Fund, represented the Catholic parishes and other plaintiffs, said in his opening remarks, “Letting families use universal preschool at Catholic schools won’t take away a single seat from the over 2,000 preschools already participating in the program.”

Reaves added, “In fact, letting Catholic schools in will create more seats for everyone, even for families who disagree with Catholic teachings.”

According to the Christian Post, Colorado Deputy Solicitor General Helen Norton represented Colorado, saying in her opening remarks that religious schools are welcome to participate in the preschool aid program.

Norton told the high court, “The only thing Colorado asks is that they comply with the same conditions that every publicly funded preschool must meet, religious and secular alike,” adding, “faith-based preschools remain free to teach their religious beliefs, including their beliefs about sex or gender or marriage; free to teach them while receiving public funding.”

St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood filed a complaint in August 2023 alleging that the state excluded them from the program established under the Colorado Universal Preschool Program Act because of their religious beliefs.

A district court ruled against the parishes in June 2024, concluding that the requirement “does not exclude Plaintiffs from the UPK Program solely because of their religious status or exercise,” but instead “applies to UPK providers, regardless of their religious or non-religious character.”

Photo: top, Credit: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla