Supreme Court to hear Catholic school choice case

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(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case challenging compliance with nondiscrimination policies for preschools that received public funds. 

The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, challenges a nondiscrimination agreement that Colorado requires schools sign to participate in the state's universal preschool program. 

The nondiscrimination agreement requires that preschool providers cannot enroll or deny families based on sexual orientation, religious affiliation, income, race, disability or gender identity. Since 2022, the preschool program has allowed children 15 hours per week of free education for the year before kindergarten 

The archdiocese of Denver and two of its parishes filed a lawsuit against the state in 2024. The parishes said the nondiscrimination agreement violated their faith to hire LGBT teachers or enroll LGBT families, violating Catholic religious teaching. 

Lawyers for the Catholic parish said the nondiscrimination agreement is not all-encompassing. The lawyers argued that schools are allowed admit students at other schools solely based on on disability status and income level, despite the nondiscrimination agreement forbidding activity. 

"Colorado doesn’t disagree it is interfering with the religious exercise of parents and schools," lawyers for the parishes wrote. "Instead, it says it is perfectly fine to exclude Catholic preschools while letting in preschools preferring those with disabilities, limited income, or LGBTQ identity."

Lawyers for Colorado argued that the state's preference for schools that target students with disabilities and from low-income families, does not represent a significant shift from the text of the nondiscrimination agreement. 

"Preschools that prioritize children with disabilities and children from low-income families do not deny equal opportunity based on disability or income level in violation of UPK's statutory equal-opportunity requirements," lawyers for the state wrote. 

Justices on the court will likely hear the case in the fall. The justices will be tasked with determining whether the state explicitly discriminated against Catholic schools while allowing other schools to violate its terms for universal preschool access.