Overview
- The Supreme Court agreed to review St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a challenge to Colorado’s rule for its free, statewide preschool program, with arguments expected next term and a decision likely by June 2027.
- Colorado’s program offers up to 15 hours per week of free preschool at participating sites, and providers must agree not to deny enrollment based on a family’s sexual orientation.
- Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Denver say that condition conflicts with their beliefs about marriage and family and led to their exclusion from the program.
- Lower federal courts upheld the state’s requirement, and the Supreme Court narrowed its review to how the Employment Division v. Smith test applies to public-funding conditions.
- The case follows recent rulings that barred excluding religious schools from neutral public benefits, and its outcome could shape access for same-sex-parent families and the role of faith-based providers in universal programs.