Supreme Court appears poised to hand Colorado major loss in religious preschool case

The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of Colorado’s effort to require Catholic preschools to allow parents who do not follow Catholic beliefs to be allowed into its universal preschool program, teeing up a potential fourth major loss for the Centennial State on First Amendment cases at the Supreme Court in the past decade.The high court heard oral arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case involving the state’s decision to bar Catholic preschools from its universal preschool programs because they refuse to comply with standards requiring schools to admit any child. Colorado defended its decision because it required the Catholic preschools to accept all families, including those who do not share Catholic beliefs, to be part of the state program. The coalition of Catholic schools argued that asking them to admit families who do not follow Catholic teachings would sacrifice their beliefs, which they say violates their First Amendment rights.A majority of the justices appeared likely to side with the Catholic schools. A main point of contention was the state’s concern that the schools would likely bar the children of same-sex couples, as same-sex marriage goes against Catholic doctrine. Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Colorado Deputy Solicitor General Helen Norton why Colorado is fighting the Catholic schools on letting them limit their students to those with families who share their beliefs when there are thousands of different preschools in the universal preschool program available for other families.“It seems like this would be a solution in search of a problem that is unnecessary to create this clash,” Kavanaugh said. “I’m just trying to figure out why we’re here. Why has this been provoked when there is an ability for everyone to go to the school — a good school — that’s a fit for them and respect religious rights?”Norton argued that all Colorado families are harmed when a school receives public funds and may turn them away, because that school may be the only one that fits a parent’s work schedule or is close to them.Kavanaugh later asked if the state allows schools in the universal preschool program to discriminate based on gender, only allowing either boys or girls, and Norton responded that those restrictions were allowed. Kavanaugh then questioned why the previously mentioned concerns about such a school being the only one that works for a parent’s schedule or a family do not apply in that situation.Nicholas Reaves, a lawyer for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty representing the Catholic preschools, noted in his rebuttal at the end of arguments that there were several other preschools in close proximity to each of the Catholic preschools seeking admission to the state program.One of the recurring questions throughout the hearing was which Supreme Court precedent should be applied in this case, with Colorado and lower courts favoring the use of the 1990 Supreme Court ruling in Employment Division v. Smith, which found that the Free Exercise Clause does not allow for people to violate a law as part of their religious practice, as long as the law is valid and neutral in how it is applied.Several conservative justices expressed concerns about using Smith precedent to guide their ruling in this case during oral arguments, with Justice Clarence Thomas asking why they would use it when they did not invoke it in recent religious liberty rulings. Justice Samuel Alito, a vocal critic of the Smith ruling, outlined his concerns about Smith being the only standard courts use when religious institutions are involved in public programs.The three liberal justices all appeared concerned about the Catholic schools’ bid to enforce their beliefs requirement while participating in the universal preschool program, arguing it would allow for religious institutions to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, or potentially even race.Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor expressed the most vocal pushback on the Catholic schools’ arguments, grilling both Reaves and Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris, representing the Department of Justice in support of the Catholic preschools.Jackson questioned if the Catholic schools were asking for a “special rule” to be able to discriminate, while Sotomayor accused the Catholic schools of wanting a “bottom line” where they can “reject a child because their parents are homosexual.” Reaves pushed back on that assertion, claiming that they do not have a blanket rule against admitting the children of same-sex parents.RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN FOCUS AT THE SUPREME COURT WITH COLORADO UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL CASEThe Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the case by the end of June 2027, when the current term is set to conclude.Next month, the high court will hear oral arguments in multiple high profile cases, ranging from “assault weapons” bans to President Donald Trump’s “third country” deportation policy. Rulings in those cases are also expected by the end of June 2027.