The Supreme Court will hear a case in its upcoming term over whether Colorado can exclude Catholic preschools from a state program, but how the justices rule could have implications for other religious groups’ ability to participate in government programs without having to give up their beliefs.
Next term, the high court will hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, in which the Archdiocese of Denver and a group of Catholic preschools are asking the Supreme Court to allow their inclusion into Colorado’s 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.
While the case itself will deal with Catholic schools’ inclusion in a state universal preschool program, leaders and advocates from other religions have raised concerns if the Supreme Court rules in Colorado’s 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 “something that we are very, very nervous about.”
“I think for the Jewish community, and I think the religious community — the faith community — you shouldn’t 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’re going to condition, then think about security grants,” Altfield said.
“Are 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’t have to be conditioned in that way,” she added.
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.
“We shouldn’t 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,” Altfield said.
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 Fund for Religious Liberty, told the Washington Examiner 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.
“If 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’re being pushed out,” Reaves said.
“If the Supreme Court were to rule for St. Mary’s 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’t be treated as second-class citizens or excluded from government programs simply because of their religious exercise,” Reaves said. “I think that’s really the bottom line.”
The current Supreme Court has handed religious liberty advocates 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.
SUPREME COURT TERM SHOWS CONTRAST BETWEEN JUSTICES WHO DOMINATE ARGUMENTS VERSUS DECISIONS
“Whether it’s education resources like this UPK program in Colorado or it’s security funding, our government was meant to work for us. And in the way that the Constitution was written, it’s meant to work for us while also protecting our religious beliefs,” Altfield said.
The Supreme Court has yet to schedule oral arguments for the St. Mary Catholic Parish 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.