BREAKING: Catholic Parents and Preschools Fight for Equal Treatment at Supreme Court
Court urged to stop Colorado's exclusion of Catholics from “universal” preschool program
Catholic preschools in the Archdiocese of Denver have been seeking equal treatment for nearly three years, despite Colorado's exclusion of religious schools from its "Universal" Preschool Program (UPK). The fight began in August 2023, when a team of lawyers from Becket filed a lawsuit against Colorado on behalf of two Catholic preschools of the Archdiocese of Denver. After a trial in January 2024, a federal court ultimately supported the state's decision to exclude religious preschools from the program. Following this ruling, the Catholic preschools appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which also sided with Colorado, allowing the state to continue excluding these Catholic preschools. In November 2025, these preschools, their families and the Archdiocese of Denver asked the United States Supreme Court for equal treatment under the law. In April 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. On Tuesday, the case was heard and Becket released the following statement, printed in full.
St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, Becket represents the parents and schools asking the Justices to end Colorado’s religious discrimination and ensure “universal” preschool is truly universal.
“Colorado’s Catholics-need-not-apply rules make a mockery of our nation’s laws and commitment to religious freedom,” said Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel at Becket and lead attorney for the families and preschools. “The Supreme Court has been crystal clear: Americans don’t have to forfeit their faith to receive public benefits. We are confident that this discrimination won’t stand and that the Court will hand Colorado yet another loss.”
“Colorado prides itself on inclusion, except when it comes to Catholic families like mine. Today, Catholic parents stood up to Colorado’s hypocrisy and asked the Court to protect our families, our schools, and our religious freedom. The Supreme Court should ensure justice prevails,” added Erika Navarrete Nagle, Catholic mother of three whose children attend St. Mary.
During today’s argument, the Justices focused on Colorado’s exclusion of religious schools. Justice Kavanaugh emphasized that Colorado would allow a preschool to serve only vegetarians, but not allow a Jewish preschool to prefer Jewish families.
Several Justices appeared perplexed by Colorado’s exclusion of religious schools, questioning why families that reject Catholic teaching would seek out schools that ask them to affirm Catholic teaching. Justice Kavanaugh asked if this is “a solution in search of a problem?” Justice Barrett likewise questioned the need for Colorado's law, given that no family had ever asked St. Mary's to change its policies. “Why are we here?” she asked Colorado's lawyer.
Justice Sotomayor suggested that the Court might need to overrule its 2011 decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, which prohibited religious groups from requiring their leaders to share their beliefs.
When Colorado created its “universal” preschool program, it promised every Colorado family 15 hours per week of free preschool, worth over $6,000 annually per child, at the public or private preschool of their choice.
Dan and Lisa Sheley, who are raising their seven children in the Catholic faith, were excited to use this benefit at their parish preschool in the Archdiocese of Denver. But they quickly discovered that Colorado had excluded all Archdiocesan preschools from the program because they ask families to be supportive of the Catholic faith.
“Universal should mean everyone. Yet Colorado has barred families like ours from its universal preschool program simply because we chose a Catholic education for our children,” Dan and Lisa Sheley said. “We pray the Supreme Court will end this discrimination and hold Colorado to its word.”
As a result, families like the Sheleys have been forced to pay thousands out of pocket for Catholic preschool. And since UPK began, enrollment at Archdiocesan preschools has fallen 20 percent, and two schools have shuttered.
The Sheleys, along with the Archdiocese of Denver and its parish preschools, have been fighting this religious discrimination in federal court since 2023. In 2025, the Tenth Circuit sided with Colorado, despite the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Carson, Espinoza and Trinity Lutheran, which ruled that states cannot exclude religious schools from public benefits because of their religious beliefs or practices.
Now the Justices will decide whether Colorado can continue excluding Catholic schools and families from a program it promised would serve everyone.
A ruling is expected by the end of the Court’s Term in June.
