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Colorado’s Preschool Battle and Catholic Family Rights

Colorado’s Preschool Battle and Catholic Family Rights

Last updated on: October 30, 2026 at 12:01 pm by Dennis McIntyre

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Colorado’s Preschool Battle and Catholic Family Rights 2026-10-30T12:01:09-04:00 Dennis McIntyre

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The Supreme Court agreed to hear another religious liberty case from Colorado, brought by St. Mary’s Parish against the state’s Universal Preschool Program. Image courtesy of Vecteezy.com.

Colorado’s Universal Preschool (UPK) program was created to provide preschool access for families statewide. The program offers funding that families can use at participating public, private, and faith-based preschools. However, a major legal battle has emerged over whether Catholic schools and Catholic families can fully participate without compromising their religious beliefs.

At the center of the dispute is St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case now before the United States Supreme Court. Catholic schools argue that Colorado’s policies effectively exclude them from a public benefit because they follow Catholic teachings regarding marriage, sexuality, and family life. Colorado officials maintain that all participating schools must comply with the same nondiscrimination requirements. The case has become one of the nation’s most important religious liberty disputes and may shape how states interact with faith-based organizations for years. Let’s look at the case and the arguments.

Colorado’s Previous Conflicts with Catholic Religious Liberty

If you think you have seen this storyline before, you are right. The current preschool dispute is not the first time Colorado has faced accusations of discriminating against Catholics or religious believers.

The most famous example is Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In that case, Christian baker Jack Phillips declined to create a custom wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage because of his religious convictions. Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission ruled against him. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Colorado’s decision. The Court concluded that state officials showed hostility toward Phillips’ religious beliefs and failed to treat his faith with the neutrality the Constitution requires. The ruling did not create a broad exemption from discrimination laws, but it did clearly rebuke Colorado’s handling of the case.

Colorado later found itself before the Supreme Court again in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a separate case involving Christian business owner Lorie Smith. In 2023, the Court ruled that Colorado could not compel a website designer to create expressive content that violated her religious convictions. The Court held that the First Amendment protects speech even when the government disagrees with the speaker’s viewpoint.

Additional Lawsuits

There have been other lawsuits with the same arguments within Colorado:

Scardina v. Masterpiece Cakeshop: Jack Phillips faced a second series of state-level lawsuits brought by Autumn Scardina. The civil suit targeted his refusal to create a custom pink-and-blue cake celebrating a gender transition, citing his Christian beliefs regarding sex and gender.
Darren Patterson / High Country Early Learning Center v. Roy (2023–2025): In parallel with the St. Mary Catholic Parish lawsuit, Darren Patterson—owner of a Christian preschool—sued Colorado officials over the state’s Universal Preschool (UPK) program requirements.

Because of these prior cases, many religious liberty advocates view the current preschool dispute as part of a broader pattern in which Colorado and religious believers repeatedly clash over First Amendment protections.

What the St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy Lawsuit Is About

The lawsuit arose after Colorado implemented its Universal Preschool Program. Under the program, participating providers receive public funding but must agree to follow state nondiscrimination requirements.

Colorado requires participating schools to provide equal enrollment opportunities regardless of factors such as sexual orientation or gender identity. Catholic preschools involved in the lawsuit argue that complying with those requirements would interfere with their ability to maintain policies rooted in Catholic doctrine. According to the plaintiffs, Colorado promised universal preschool funding that would be available for public, private, and religious schools. They contend that the state ultimately excluded Catholic schools and families unless those schools agreed to surrender religious practices and admissions standards connected to their faith.

The State of Colorado argues that faith-based schools remain welcome to participate if they follow the same rules as every other provider receiving public funds. Colorado maintains that its requirements are neutral and apply equally to all schools. The Supreme Court will now determine whether Colorado’s policy violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment by burdening religious schools and the families who choose them.

SCOTUS Recent History on Religious Liberty

Recent Supreme Court decisions suggest that the Court has become increasingly protective of religious liberty claims. In addition to Masterpiece Cakeshop (2018) and 303 Creative (2023) cases listed above:

Beyond the Colorado-specific cases, the Court has repeatedly ruled against states that excluded religious organizations from public benefit programs:
- In Trinity Lutheran v. Comer (2017), Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020), and Carson v. Makin (2022), the Court held that governments generally may not exclude religious institutions from public programs simply because they are religious.

Supporters of the Catholic schools argue that these precedents strongly favor the families challenging Colorado’s preschool policy. They contend that if a state offers a public benefit, it cannot deny that benefit because recipients choose a religious school. Critics of the lawsuit argue that the issue is not religious status but compliance with nondiscrimination requirements attached to public funding. The Supreme Court’s decision will help clarify where the line exists between religious freedom and government anti-discrimination policies.

The Catholic View

Does Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program exclude Catholic families? Image courtesy of Vecteezy.com.

Here we are in another legal stalemate where a state is passively excluding Catholics by forcing them to choose between abandoning core tenets of our faith or forfeiting our ability to run a business, operate a school, or access government benefits (such as Universal Preschool grants). Catholic doctrines on marriage, biological sex, and human sexuality are non-negotiable. Every person has fundamental worth, dignity, and a right to love and respect because they are created in the image of God (Matthew 22:37-40), regardless of their actions, identity, or beliefs. This does not mean Catholic institutions must support these ideologies.

Jesus consistently welcomed people society marginalized, ignored, and burdened. He calls us to treat others with dignity while remaining faithful to God’s truth. The Gospels show Jesus extending compassion to sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans, and those considered outsiders. At the same time, He never abandoned truth for the sake of acceptance. He demonstrated both grace and conviction. Catholics therefore often see religious liberty not as a privilege but as the freedom to live according to sincerely held beliefs while treating others with respect.

From a Catholic perspective, the ideal solution is not coercion. Jesus did not force faith upon anyone, nor did He require us to violate conscience. Instead, He invited people to follow Him freely. Many Catholic families involved in the lawsuit argue that they want the same educational opportunities available to everyone else while remaining faithful to their religious convictions. They believe true religious diversity allows people with differing beliefs to coexist without government pressure to abandon core doctrines.

The Final Word

Whatever the outcome, the decision will have implications far beyond preschool education. It will help define how America balances religious freedom, parental choice, and public policy for years to come.

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About Dennis McIntyre

In my early years, I was a member of the Methodist church, where I was baptized as a child and eventually became a lector. I always felt very faith-filled, but something was missing. My wife is Catholic, and my children were baptized as Catholics, which helped me find what I was looking for. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and walk with Jesus. In 2004, I was welcomed into the Catholic faith and received the sacraments as a full member of the Catholic Church. I am a Spiritual Director and commissioned to lead directees through the 19th Annotation. I am very active in ministry, serving as a Lector and Eucharistic Minister and providing spiritual direction. I have worked with the sick and terminally ill in local hospitals and hospice care centers, and I have found these ministries challenging and extremely rewarding. In addition to publishing articles on Patheos, I have also published articles on Beliefnet.com. You can read more about the author here.

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