Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program Ignores Religious Freedom Claims, Sparks Supreme Court Battle

By Michael Dorstewitz

While states like Minnesota willingly shell out billions in taxpayer dollars to support Somali-owned children’s daycare and learning centers that don’t actually exist, Colorado offers free preschool—on the taxpayers’ dime—as long as it’s not run by Catholics.

Colorado parents have been able to send their children to the top preschools of their choice since 2022 through the state’s universal preschool program (UPK). Both public and private schools are included in this initiative.

But Colorado excludes preschools administered by Catholic parishes from the “universal” program, citing the schools’ written commitment to uphold the Church’s moral teachings, including on gender and sexuality, as their reason. The state reasoned that those standards might conflict with admitting students and families who reject those traditional values.

So if a family rejects Catholic moral standards, send their preschoolers elsewhere.

“Our preschools exist to help parents who want an education rooted in the Catholic faith for their children,” said Scott Elmer, chief mission officer for the Archdiocese of Denver. “All we ask is for the ability to offer families who choose a Catholic education the same access to free preschool services that’s available at thousands of other preschools across Colorado.”

After the schools’ request for an exemption was denied, they filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, citing First Amendment religious freedom grounds. They lost. Their appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Tenth Judicial Circuit also failed, and they have since asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. The schools are represented by The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty under the case name St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy.

“Colorado is picking winners and losers based on the content of their religious beliefs,” said Nick Reaves, Becket Fund senior counsel. “That sort of religious discrimination flies in the face of our nation’s traditions and decades of Supreme Court rulings. We’re asking the Court to step in and make sure ‘universal’ preschool really is universal.”

The Becket Fund observed that Colorado’s decision to exclude Catholic-run preschools from its “universal” program violates recent Supreme Court rulings that “states cannot exclude religious schools from public benefits because of their religious exercise.”

Fears that Catholic preschools might uphold the Church’s moral teachings, including on gender and sexuality, are misplaced. First, President Trump signed an executive order early into his second term placing severe restrictions on schools that receive public funds while encouraging gender transitions in children or permitting biological boys to enter girls’ private spaces. Secondly, in today’s educational environment, Christian-based education should be considered the norm rather than an extreme.

We’ve all heard horror stories of children being “transitioned” without their parents’ consent or even their knowledge. Then there’s a new book, Abortion Is Everything, which hit shelves in early September and describes abortion—the termination of a pre-born life—as “a uniquely human superpower.” The book targets ages 5 to 8.

Shouldn’t they be learning their ABCs at five, maybe moving into times tables afterward? At this point, a return to normalcy might be appropriate. Let kids be kids—teach them the Golden Rule and a few other universal moral standards.

Finally, more fraud committed by Somali Muslims is being uncovered every day—not merely in Minnesota. It’s now reported in Washington state and Ohio. Yet instead of denouncing the fraud or the Somali Muslims who largely commit it, most attention and criticism has been directed at Nick Shirley, the independent journalist who made it public, followed by Trump, who condemned the Somali community because of it.

As for the Colorado case, the Becket Fund predicts the Court will likely consider taking it up early this year. Where it goes from there is anyone’s guess. But in the meantime, Colorado officials might want to ask themselves: If the preschools were operated by Somalis or Muslims rather than mainstream Christians, would they have approved them?

If the answer is “yes,” Colorado has some soul-searching to do. Is that the direction they really want to be heading?