Supreme Court offers support for Catholic preschools challenging state funding requirements

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices appeared sympathetic to Catholic preschools challenging Colorado’s requirement that publicly funded providers follow anti-discrimination rules. The case asks whether the state may exclude schools that restrict admissions based on families’ support for Catholic teaching, or whether doing so unlawfully burdens religious freedom.

Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program, created in 2020, offers participating schools public funding for up to 15 hours of preschool a week, worth $6,300 per child each year. The state says its conditions apply neutrally to all providers and protect equal access for families, while two Catholic parishes and an archdiocese running 34 preschools seek an exemption. The court may also reconsider a 36-year-old precedent on whether religious practices warrant exemptions from generally applicable laws.