WATCH: Will the Supreme Court End Colorado's Religious Discrimination?

What if the government told you that it was creating a “universal” preschool funding program to allow families to pick the best preschool for them — public, private or faith-based — but excluded your child simply because you chose a Catholic preschool?

Catholic preschools in the Archdiocese of Denver have been seeking equal treatment for 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.

By excluding these preschools from its “universal” preschool funding program, Colorado is denying thousands of families access to a public benefit that is supposed to be available to everyone. Catholic families and schools are asking the Supreme Court to stop the State’s religious discrimination and ensure equal access to this government benefit for all people of all faiths.