The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from Catholic preschools in Colorado that claim the state wrongfully shut them out of a taxpayer-funded program because of their religious admission standards. The decision, announced Monday, pits religious liberty against nondiscrimination protections in one of the term's most closely watched cases.
St. Mary Catholic Parish and the Archdiocese of Denver argue that barring them from Colorado's universal preschool initiative violates the Constitution's protection of religious freedom. The facilities say they cannot comply with the state's nondiscrimination requirements because their faith-based policies restrict admission of LGBTQ+ families and children.
Colorado counters that religious schools remain welcome to join the program, which was launched through a 2020 ballot measure to provide free preschool at parent-selected centers across the state. The only condition, state officials say, is adherence to existing nondiscrimination laws that apply to all recipients of public funds.
The case arrives as the conservative-majority court continues its streak of siding with religious liberty claims while taking a more restrictive approach to LGBTQ+ protections. The Trump administration has backed the schools' position, signaling where the executive branch stands on the collision between these two areas of law.
A secondary legal question will also shape the case. The schools asked the justices to overturn or narrow a pivotal 1990 ruling known for protecting states' ability to enforce general laws without granting religious exemptions. That decision, authored by the late Justice Antonin Scalia, examined the spiritual use of peyote and held that religious practice does not automatically excuse compliance with broadly applicable statutes.
The court declined to dismantle that precedent, though it stopped short of fully embracing it. The justices will instead consider whether to trim back its scope, a move that could have sweeping consequences for how courts balance religious claims against neutral laws of general application.
Oral arguments are scheduled for the fall. The ruling will likely clarify how far religious institutions can push back against nondiscrimination requirements when federal or state money is on the table, a tension that has simmered throughout American law for decades.
Author James Rodriguez: "This case exposes a real crack in how America reconciles two deeply held principles, and the Court's answer will ripple far beyond Colorado's preschool program."
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