Supreme Court leans toward LGBTQ exclusion for publicly funded Catholic preschools

The Supreme Court's conservative majority seemed inclined Tuesday to rule that the four-year-old children of gay and trans parents can be barred from a state-funded pre-K program.

In 2022, Colorado adopted a state-wide program to provide all four-year-olds with an early education. The program, paid for by the taxpayers to the tune of $6,300 per child per year, was open to all, including religious groups. The only caveat was that the preschool program had to comply with the state law barring discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, or other categories.

Law Supreme Court hears religious freedom case centered on universal pre-K program Although the Catholic Church initially supported the program, and the nonprofit Catholic Charities still participates in it, the Denver archdiocese maintained that compliance with the state's nondiscrimination mandate violates the Constitution's guarantee to the free exercise of religion.