Supreme Court to Hear Colorado Case on Funding Catholic Preschools

The United States Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for a case that challenges Colorado’s requirement that schools accepting universal preschool funding must provide “equal opportunity to enroll” children regardless of sexual orientation. The dispute centers on whether Catholic preschools can be compelled to enroll children of same-sex couples in order to receive state funds. The arguments are set for November, coinciding with the nation’s midterm elections, and the Court is expected to issue a decision by the following summer.

The Hill

Colorado’s policy is part of a broader effort to extend LGBTQ protections to early-education programs. The case offers the Court an opportunity to revisit the 1990 decision in *Employment Division v. Smith*, which permits laws that burden religious exercise so long as they are neutral and generally applicable. Several of the Court’s conservative justices have previously expressed concern that the *Smith* standard may allow governmental overreach into religious liberty.

The Hill

Catholic parishes, parents, and the Archdiocese of Denver assert that the state requirement forces them to choose between adhering to their doctrinal opposition to same-sex marriage and receiving public preschool funding. This claim is presented as an alleged burden on their religious exercise. The state, through its preschool funding program, maintains that the nondiscrimination condition is a neutral, generally applicable rule designed to ensure equal access for all children.

The Hill

If the Court narrows the *Smith* precedent, the ruling could reshape the balance between anti-discrimination policies and religious exemptions nationwide, affecting not only early-education programs but also other sectors where religious institutions receive public funds. The case is one of seven newly scheduled for the November session, and a decision is projected to arrive by the summer after the arguments.

The Hill