{"id":2592819,"date":"2026-04-20T12:51:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T12:54:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:54:31","slug":"scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTUS To Decide If CO School Program Can Exclude Catholics"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fscotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2592819&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Supreme Court will hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a challenge to Colorado\u2019s global preschool program, which plaintiffs say effectively excludes Catholic families by requiring they abandon Church teaching on sexuality and human identity to participate. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/title-42-ends-texas-ag-paxton-files-for-restraining-order-against-biden-border-policy\/\" title=\"Title 42 ends: Texas AG Paxton files for re...raining order again... Biden border policy\">case argues<\/a> that such a policy violates the First Amendment\u2019s Free exercise Clause. Colorado contends the program is neutral and that religious groups can participate under general rules. Lower courts have ruled against the plaintiffs\u2019s broader request for an injunction, though they did temporarily bar enforcement of the nondiscrimination requirement related to religious affiliation while a congregational preference existed; the Tenth Circuit upheld that ruling. The Supreme Court\u2019s granting raises the questions of whether Employment Division v. Smith should be overruled and how it relates to Carson v. Makin, specifically about when the government excludes religious actors from programs and subsidies. Oral arguments are anticipated in the court\u2019s 2026-2027 term.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gutenberg_Bible,_Lenox_Copy,_New_York_Public_Library,_2009._Pic_01.jpg\">NYC Wanderer (Kevin Eng)\/Wikimedia Commons\/<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=SCOTUS%20To%20Decide%20Whether%20Colorado%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Universal%E2%80%99%20Preschool%20Program%20Can%20Exclude%20Catholic%20Families&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=SCOTUS%20To%20Decide%20Whether%20Colorado%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Universal%E2%80%99%20Preschool%20Program%20Can%20Exclude%20Catholic%20Families&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=SCOTUS%20To%20Decide%20Whether%20Colorado%E2%80%99s%20%E2%80%98Universal%E2%80%99%20Preschool%20Program%20Can%20Exclude%20Catholic%20Families&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/20\/scotus-to-decide-whether-colorados-universal-preschool-program-can-exclude-catholic-families\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up a major case involving Colorado&rsquo;s alleged infringement of Catholic families&rsquo; First Amendment rights. <\/p>\n<p>The high court <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/orders\/courtorders\/042026zor_h315.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> on Monday that it will hear arguments in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/docket\/docketfiles\/html\/public\/25-581.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy<\/a><\/em>, which centers around Colorado&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/becketfund.org\/case\/st-mary-catholic-parish-v-roy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">apparent exclusion<\/a> of Catholic families and preschools from its &ldquo;universal&rdquo; preschool program. As Andrea Picciotti-Bayer previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/04\/thank-feisty-parents-for-transgender-ideologys-retreat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> in these pages, the state told Catholic parishes upon the program&rsquo;s enactment that &ldquo;they could&#8239;participate&#8239;&mdash; so long as they abandoned Church teaching on sexual orientation and human identity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1164432975\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The price of the subsidy, in other words, is the surrender of&#8239;the faith,&rdquo; Picciotti-Bayer wrote. &ldquo;Catholic families who refuse that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/thank-feisty-parents-for-transgender-ideologys-retreat\/\" title=\"Thank Fei...y Parents For Transgender Ideology&#039;s Retreat\">bargain pay full tuition<\/a> out of pocket while their tax dollars underwrite everyone else&rsquo;s preschool &mdash; a hardship that for some has meant forgoing preschool entirely, undermining the very interest the state claims to be serving.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>St. Mary Catholic Parish and other co-plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging Colorado&rsquo;s policy, in which they alleged that it violated their First Amendment rights. <\/p>\n<p>The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado denied plaintiffs&rsquo; request to implement an injunction prohibiting the policy&rsquo;s enforcement and further ruled that it does not violate the First Amendment. &ldquo;However, the court did enjoin the state from enforcing the nondiscrimination requirement as to religious affiliation for as long as a congregation preference existed, a ruling not challenged on appeal,&rdquo; according to <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/appellate-courts\/ca10\/24-1267\/24-1267-2025-09-30.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Justia<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justice-alito-moves-up-deadline-for-supreme-court-briefing-in-pennsylvania-lawsuit-to-flip-the-election\/\" title=\"Ju...ice Alito Moves Up Deadline For ... Briefing in Pennsylvania Lawsuit to Flip the Election\">lower court&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s ruling, prompting plaintiffs to appeal to SCOTUS for relief. <\/p>\n<p>In its Monday order, the Supreme Court agreed to address the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-581\/384425\/20251113161200771_No.-__Petition%20for%20a%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">questions<\/a> of whether &ldquo;proving a lack of general applicability under <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/1989\/88-1213\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Employment Division v. Smith<\/a><\/em>  requires showing unfettered discretion or categorical exemptions for identical secular conduct,&rdquo; and whether &ldquo;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2021\/20-1088\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Carson v. Makin<\/a><\/em>  displaces the rule of <em>Employment Division v. Smith<\/em> only when the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >government explicitly excludes religious people<\/a> and institutions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Smith<\/em>, a majority of justices (6-3) ruled that the Supreme Court &ldquo;has never held that an individual&rsquo;s religious beliefs excuse him from compliance with an otherwise valid law prohibiting conduct that government is free to regulate,&rdquo; according to Oyez. Writing for the majority, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia argued that permitting exceptions to every state rule involving religion &ldquo;would open the prospect of constitutionally required exemptions from civic obligations of almost every conceivable kind.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/DocketPDF\/25\/25-581\/384425\/20251113161200771_No.-__Petition%20for%20a%20Writ%20of%20Certiorari.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">petition<\/a> to SCOTUS, St. Mary Catholic Parish and its co-plaintiffs referred to <em>Smith<\/em>&lsquo;s established precedent as &ldquo;rootless.&rdquo; Quoting a past concurring opinion by Associate Justice Samuel Alito, they further argued that &ldquo;<em>Smith<\/em> &lsquo;paid shockingly little attention to the text of the [First Amendment&rsquo;s] Free Exercise Clause,&#8217;&rdquo; and that &ldquo;Instead of examining what readers would have understood its words to mean when adopted, the opinion merely asked whether it was &lsquo;permissible&rsquo; to read the text to have the meaning that the majority favored.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Religious people across the country are stuck in forever conflicts precisely because of the (sometimes willful) confusion among the lower courts over the meaning of the Free Exercise Clause,&rdquo; the plaintiffs&rsquo; petition reads. &ldquo;Religious people should not have to endure years of litigation because the law is unclear and state governments are unyielding.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The high court did not agree in its Monday order to take up and address the question posed by plaintiffs of whether <em>Employment Division v. Smith<\/em> should be overruled. <\/p>\n<p>Oral arguments in <em>St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy<\/em> are likely to occur sometime during the court&rsquo;s 2026-2027 term. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/catholics\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Catholics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/christianity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Christianity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/colorado\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Colorado<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/employment-division-v-smith\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Employment Division v. Smith<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">First Amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/religious-freedom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">religious freedom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/st-mary-catholic-parish-v-roy\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCOTUS to hear Colorado Catholic preschool rights case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2592820,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bible.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[78151,6024,53072,50769,47079],"class_list":["post-2592819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-churchstate","tag-colorado","tag-educationpolicy","tag-religiousfreedom","tag-supremecourt"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Bible.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592819","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2592819"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2592823,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2592819\/revisions\/2592823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2592820"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2592819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2592819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2592819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}