The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to side with Catholic preschools challenging Colorado's refusal to exempt them from a nondiscrimination requirement and
in its universal preschool program.
asserted
Court → appear → program
The nondiscrimination mandate at the center of the dispute, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, requires participating schools to provide children with an "equal opportunity" to enroll regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics.
asserted
mandate → require → characteristics
When Colorado was preparing to implement the program, the Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees 34 Catholic preschools, sought an exemption from the nondiscrimination rule, since they only enroll families that align with the Catholic Church's teachings, including on marriage, family and sexual identity.
asserted
that → prepare → marriage
The state, however, denied the request for an accommodation and said the Catholic schools could not "discriminate against children or families in violation of state statute."
uncertain
schools → deny → statute
The Archdiocese, two of its parishes and a family then sued the state, arguing that their exclusion from the universal preschool program violated the Constitution's Free Exercise Clause.
asserted
exclusion → sue → Clause
Lower courts sided with the state and said the sexual orientation and gender identity provisions of the nondiscrimination rule are neutral and apply generally to providers participating in the universal preschool program.
But in arguments that spanned two hours on Tuesday, the court's conservative majority appeared likely to rule in favor of the Catholic preschools.
asserted
majority → side → preschools
Such a decision would join a sided with religious institutions challenging their exclusion from state benefits programs, opening the door for more public dollars to flow to religious schools.
asserted
dollars → join → schools
of in which the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, hasOral arguments
Several of the conservative justices repeatedly raised concerns that the nondiscrimination rule was effectively a back-door way to keep religious entities out of the universal preschool program.
asserted
rule → have → program
"You agree, don't you, that Colorado could not say that Catholic schools or evangelical schools or Orthodox Jewish schools were excluded from participation in the UPK program?"
uncertain
schools → agree → program
Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Helen Norton, Colorado's deputy solicitor general.
asserted
Barrett → ask → Norton
"Then explain what the difference is between that and choosing to impose a condition that you know that those schools would be unable to agree to."
asserted
schools → explain → that
Barrett suggested the effect of the nondiscrimination requirement is to "push out" those with traditional beliefs.
uncertain
effect → suggest → beliefs
Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked Norton about the state's refusal to exempt Catholic preschools.
asserted
Kavanaugh → ask → preschools
He noted that there are more than 2,000 preschools that participate in Colorado's universal preschool program, and only 34 are overseen by the Archdiocese of Denver.
asserted
34 → note → Denver
"There are plenty of opportunities to respect the rights of the religious believers and respect the ability of LGBT parents to find among the 2,000 schools an appropriate fit for their children," he said.
asserted
he → be → children
Justice Samuel Alito raised Colorado's recent record of losses at the Supreme Court in religious liberty cases, in which the high court sided with a Christian
, and ."We have the state's record" in other First Amendment cases, Alito told Norton.
asserted
Alito → raise → Norton
"What should we make of this?"
But Norton, the Colorado deputy solicitor general, said Colorado "welcomes" religious preschools to its program.
asserted
Colorado → make → program
"The only thing Colorado asks is that they comply with the same conditions that every publicly funded preschool must meet, religious and secular alike," she said, adding that religious preschools can teach their beliefs on sex, gender or marriage and are "free to teach them while receiving public funding."
asserted
preschools → ask → funding
Nicholas Reaves, a lawyer with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty who argued on behalf of the Archdiocese, said Colorado is denying Catholic preschools the ability to receive public benefits because of their religious exercise.
asserted
Colorado → argue → exercise
The three liberal justices each raised concerns that the Catholic schools were asking for a "special" accommodation from the state that would allow them to discriminate against families based on protected characteristics.
asserted
them → raise → characteristics
Justice Elena Kagan said that the principle the Supreme Court upheld in a 2022 case involving a Maine tuition-assistance program was that the state cannot treat religious institutions differently.
asserted
state → say → institutions
"That's not the principle that's at issue here," she said.
asserted
she → say → issue
"The principle at issue here is, do you have to treat them better?"
asserted
you → have → them
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Archdiocese and its preschools are asking for a "special rule" that would allow them to turn away students based on their or their parents' sexual orientation or gender identity.
asserted
them → say → orientation
Colorado's universal preschool program launched after voters in the state approved a ballot measure in 2020 to provide state funding for a new program that intended to make preschool "widely available for free" to all 4-year-olds in the state.
asserted
preschool → launch → state
Families are reimbursed for the cost of 15 hours of preschool per week, which amounts to more than $6,000 per year.
asserted
which → reimburse → year
The state uses a mixed-delivery system, meaning public, private, faith-based and secular preschools can participate.
asserted
preschools → use → system
Those that do must sign a contract and meet state quality standards.
asserted
that → do → standards
The statute that created the universal preschool program also imposed a nondiscrimination rule.
asserted
that → create → rule
Colorado estimates there are roughly 40,000 children who are eligible for universal preschool across nearly 2,000 providers.
asserted
who → estimate → providers
The Archdiocese's 34 Catholic preschools do not participate in the program.
asserted
preschools → participate → program
The Aporia
