US Supreme Court to hear Catholic school funding case over LGBTQ+ ban
Claiming the Free Exercise Clause, part of the First Amendment, they filed a lawsuit after being refused state funding
By Aaron Sugg
The US Supreme Court will hear a case from Colorado after Catholic preschools claimed it was unfair to lose state funding for refusing to accept children from LGBTQ+ families.
The case was brought by the Archdiocese of Denver, which operates 34 preschools, claiming that excluding LGBTQ+ children and parents is justified as a religious freedom exemption.
Since it was founded in 2023, Colorado’s Universal Preschool Programme (UPK Colorado) has provided up to 15 hours per week of tuition-free preschool before children enter kindergarten.
Children in the US often attend preschool between the ages of three and five, before heading to Kindergarten at ages roughly five and six.
Archdiocese of Denver and Colorado Catholic preschools are filing a lawsuit against Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood
The schools applied for public funding in 2024 through the universal preschool programme and were denied by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
Claiming the Free Exercise Clause, part of the First Amendment guaranteeing the right to practise religion without government interference, they alleged their rights were violated, filing a lawsuit against the state.
Colorado’s UPK programme requires providers to accept all families “regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability.”
“These requirements directly conflict with St. Mary’s, St. Bernadette’s, and the Archdiocese’s religious beliefs” – the Colorado lawsuit states
The Archdiocese of Denver upholds traditional Catholic teachings on sexuality and gender, does not recognise gender autonomy for children, and teaches that marriage is between a man and a woman.
At the time of their request in 2024, a district court and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled in favour of Colorado, upholding the anti-discrimination policy as valid.
The Archdiocese of Denver, along with St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish, is suing Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood over the 2024 result.
“These requirements directly conflict with St. Mary’s, St. Bernadette’s, and the Archdiocese’s religious beliefs and their religious obligations as entities that carry out the Catholic Church’s mission of Catholic education in northern Colorado,” the lawsuit reads.
As of this week, the US Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, which will decide whether Colorado’s rules violate religious freedom protections under the First Amendment.