Supreme Court hears challenge to Colorado's exclusion of Catholic preschools
St. Mary Catholic Parish, the Archdiocese of Denver and a group of Catholic parents are suing Colorado for barring Catholic preschools from the state's universal preschool program
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday, November 3, in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case challenging the exclusion of Catholic preschools from Colorado's universal preschool program, known as UPK. The plaintiffs are St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton, Colorado, the Archdiocese of Denver and a group of Catholic parents who have to pay out of pocket to send their children to religious schools. The preschool run by St. Mary Catholic Parish is not eligible to take part in the state program.
Plaintiffs allege religious discrimination
The plaintiffs argue that keeping Catholic preschools out of the UPK program disregards the country's laws and its commitment to religious freedom. After the arguments, Nicholas Reaves, lead counsel for the families and the preschools and senior counsel at Becket, a religious liberty legal group, issued a statement criticizing the state's position.
"Colorado's rules excluding Catholics make a mockery of our nation's laws and its commitment to religious freedom," said Reaves, who is leading the plaintiffs' case.
Religious freedom in education
The plaintiffs say the refusal to include Catholic preschools in the UPK program is a form of discrimination based on the schools' religious identity, which would violate constitutionally protected principles.
The case follows recent Supreme Court rulings on religious freedom, including decisions that expanded protections for religious rights in education and in access to state benefits.
The Archdiocese of Denver and the Catholic plaintiffs are asking the court to rule that deliberately excluding religious schools from a universal program amounts to discrimination and violates parents' constitutional right to educate their children according to their religious beliefs.
Based on reporting by Lucas Alonso for Iglesia Noticias. This article was translated and adapted from Spanish with the help of artificial intelligence.
