{"id":2630410,"date":"2026-07-16T05:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-courts-catholic-preschool-case-could-have-broader-implications\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T05:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:52:29","slug":"supreme-courts-catholic-preschool-case-could-have-broader-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-courts-catholic-preschool-case-could-have-broader-implications\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court&#8217;s Catholic preschool case could have broader implications"},"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\">18<\/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%2Fsupreme-courts-catholic-preschool-case-could-have-broader-implications%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=2630410&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 upcoming Supreme Court session will review a case, St.Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, concerning Colorado&#8217;s exclusion of Catholic preschools from a universal preschool program as the schools require accepting all families, including non-Catholics. The schools argue this violates their First Amendment rights. The case raises broader concerns among religious communities about potential restrictions on their participation in government-funded programs.advocates warn that if Colorado&#8217;s position is upheld, it could set a precedent for conditioning religious groups&#8217; access to public funds, including security grants, especially amid rising antisemitism. The case, backed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, emphasizes the importance of preventing religious discrimination by state policies. The Supreme Court&#8217;s decision could have important implications for religious liberty and the inclusion of faith-based institutions in government programs, with a ruling expected by June 2027.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> will hear a case in its upcoming term over whether <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/colorado\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"767\">Colorado<\/a> can exclude Catholic preschools from a state program, but how the justices rule could have implications for other religious groups\u2019 ability to participate in government programs without having to give up their beliefs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Next term, the high court will hear <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4535480\/supreme-court-catholic-exclusion-colorado-universal-preschool\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4535480\/supreme-court-catholic-exclusion-colorado-universal-preschool\/\">St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy<\/a><\/em>, in which the Archdiocese of Denver and a group of Catholic preschools are asking the Supreme Court to allow their inclusion into Colorado\u2019s universal preschool program. Colorado denied the schools from the program because they required the Catholic preschools to accept all families, including those who do not share Catholic beliefs, something which the preschools say violates their First Amendment rights.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4647851\/five-takeaways-kagan-barrett-capitol-hill\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Five takeaways from the Supreme Court\u2019s big day on Capitol Hill<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4647324\/amy-coney-barrett-elena-kagan-supreme-court-security-funding\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Amy Coney Barrett describes increased threats in plea for more Supreme Court security funding<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4647578\/elena-kagan-tribute-lindsey-graham\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Elena Kagan pays tribute to \u2018untimely passing\u2019 of Lindsey Graham: \u2018Made me look funny\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the case itself will deal with Catholic schools\u2019 inclusion in a state universal preschool program, leaders and advocates from other religions have raised concerns if the Supreme Court rules in Colorado\u2019s favor in the case. Sydney Altfield, CEO of the Teach Coalition, which works to help with the safety and affordability of Jewish schools, warned that while states have not attempted to attach conditions to the security they provide for Jewish schools, that possibility is \u201csomething that we are very, very nervous about.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think for the Jewish community, and I think the religious community \u2014 the faith community \u2014 you shouldn\u2019t have to cash in your constitutional rights to participate in government programs. And if this [universal pre-K] funding, for example, in Colorado is the first thing that they\u2019re going to condition, then think about security grants,\u201d Altfield said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAre we going to have to choose, as a synagogue or a Jewish day school, about taking a security grant money and keeping our communities and our institutions safe versus keeping our institutions Jewish or keeping our institutions in the religious entity that we want it to be? And we shouldn\u2019t have to be conditioned in that way,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, Jews have faced a rising tide of antisemitism globally, which has led several Jewish schools to increase security. Federal and state grants exist to provide Jewish schools with security, but lawmakers have not yet tried conditioning these grants.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe shouldn\u2019t have to surrender our religious beliefs in order to have protections, in order to take government funding that other cases have ruled that nonpublic schools should get. But just because we are religious nonpublic schools, we should not be conditioned in that sense,\u201d Altfield said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coalition of Catholic schools and parents who brought the lawsuit against Colorado is backed by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a group that specializes in religious liberty litigation. Nick Reaves, senior counsel at the Becket\u00a0Fund for Religious Liberty, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> the case is about Colorado trying to push religious institutions out of public programs that any other type of institution can be a part of.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf Colorado is successful here, families who want religious education, families who want religious social service providers more generally, may be deprived of those opportunities because essentially, they\u2019re being pushed out,\u201d Reaves said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf the Supreme Court were to rule for St. Mary\u2019s and rule for the families in this case, not only would it open up universal preschool in Colorado for families who want a Catholic education, but it would more broadly ensure that religious groups can\u2019t be treated as second-class citizens or excluded from government programs simply because of their religious exercise,\u201d Reaves said. \u201cI think that\u2019s really the bottom line.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The current Supreme Court has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-declines-to-take-up-challenge-over-prayer-at-high-school-football-game\/\" title=\"Supreme Court declines to take up challenge over prayer at high school football game\">handed religious liberty advocates<\/a> several key wins in recent terms, including by allowing parents to opt their children out of LGBT materials in schools in a 2025 ruling. Advocates supporting the Catholic preschools in their legal battle against Colorado ultimately believe the case comes down to the state government violating the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4638447\/supreme-court-term-contrast-between-justices-dominate-arguments-versus-decisions\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4638447\">SUPREME COURT TERM SHOWS CONTRAST BETWEEN JUSTICES WHO DOMINATE ARGUMENTS VERSUS DECISIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhether it\u2019s education resources like this UPK program in Colorado or it\u2019s security funding, our government was meant to work for us. And in the way that the Constitution was written, it\u2019s meant to work for us while also protecting our religious beliefs,\u201d Altfield said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Supreme Court has yet to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-agrees-to-hear-oral-arguments-on-mark-meadowss-emergency-motion-in-georgia-election-case\/\" title=\"Appeals Court to Hear Oral Arguments on Meadows&#039;s Emergency Motion in GA Election ....\">schedule oral arguments<\/a> for the <em>St. Mary Catholic Parish<\/em> case, but it could be heard as early as October, when the next term for the high court is scheduled to begin. A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June 2027 at the latest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court to decide if Colorado can exclude Catholic preschools<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2638,"featured_media":2630411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26181546610200_50af71.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[82781,35136,38639,32274,32275],"class_list":["post-2630410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-catholic-preschool","tag-education-policy","tag-legal-implications","tag-religious-freedom","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26181546610200_50af71.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630410","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\/2638"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630414,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630410\/revisions\/2630414"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}