Supreme Court to hear Colorado preschool funding dispute
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday in a dispute over whether Colorado can exclude Catholic preschools from its publicly funded pre-K program because they do not admit children of LGBTQ parents. The case tests how far religious schools can claim an exemption from antidiscrimination requirements attached to public benefits.1
TL;DR
- The case pits the schools’ claim to religious autonomy against Colorado’s position that public funding can carry equal-opportunity conditions.12
- The market’s pricing reflects substantial uncertainty about whether the schools will win a merits ruling that changes the lower-court judgment, while leaving open how broadly the justices might rule.M1
Still to come
- The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments Tuesday, November 3. The justices’ consideration of the accepted questions will test whether Colorado’s program rules can be applied to the Catholic preschools without an exemption.
Colorado’s program reimburses 15 hours of preschool a week for 4-year-olds and allows parents to choose among public, private and religious schools that meet state standards. The benefit is about $6,300 per child. St. Mary Catholic Parish and other preschools run by the Denver Archdiocese do not participate because their admissions policies conflict with the program’s protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.1
The school and its supporters say the admissions policy reflects Catholic teaching and that Colorado is burdening religious exercise. The state argues that the schools remain eligible if they follow the same equal-opportunity requirements as other publicly funded preschools. The dispute therefore turns on more than access to the benefit: a ruling for the schools could affect whether governments may impose nondiscrimination conditions on public aid available to religious institutions.12
Attorney David Martino wrote that the court accepted questions about whether secular exemptions undermine a law’s general applicability and whether a prior religious-school funding decision applies only when government expressly excludes religious institutions. He also noted that the court did not agree to consider the petitioners’ request to overrule Employment Division v. Smith. Those limits frame the case the justices will hear, rather than a broader reconsideration of religious-exercise law.X1
The market put the chance at about 45%, as of November 2, that the court would issue by August 1, 2027, a merits decision reversing or vacating the appeals court’s judgment against the preschools, including in part. That price captures meaningful uncertainty over the defined appellate outcome, not necessarily a complete victory for the schools on every issue.1M1
Posts on X (1)
Cited in this story
-
X1
@DMartinoLaw
@DMartinoLaw
On Tuesday, November 3rd, the Supreme Court hears St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, No. 25-581, on Colorado's universal preschool program.
The program pays for families to send their children to the preschool of their choice, public or private. A participating preschool must give all families an "equal opportunity" to enroll, regardless of, among other things, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Colorado excluded Catholic preschools that admit only families who support Catholic beliefs, including beliefs on sex and gender. The parish argues that the program allows categorical and discretionary exemptions for preschools serving particular groups, such as low-income families and children with disabilities.
The Tenth Circuit upheld the exclusion. Applying Employment Division v. Smith, it held that the secular exemptions and the state's discretion did not undermine the rule's general applicability. It also held that Carson v. Makin did not apply, because Colorado did not exclude the preschools on the explicit basis of religion.
The Court granted two questions. Does proving that a law is not generally applicable require unfettered discretion or categorical exemptions for identical secular conduct? Does Carson displace Smith only when the government expressly excludes religious people and institutions?
The petition also asked the Court to overrule Smith. The grant does not include that question.
#SCOTUS #ReligiousLiberty
Sources
-
Should a Catholic preschool that bars kids of gay parents get state money? · Washington Post · Nov 1
AI-generated from the linked reporting and prediction-market data. Market prices reflect traders’ expectations and can change.