As voters cast midterm ballots, the Supreme Court is weighing whether Colorado can keep Catholic preschools out of its free preschool program unless they admit LGBTQ families.
What the justices are deciding
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 — Election Day — the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, according to the Court’s day call and coverage from NBC News and SCOTUSblog.
The case asks whether Colorado violated the First Amendment’s free-exercise guarantee — the part of the Constitution that protects religious practice — by blocking some Catholic preschools from a taxpayer-funded preschool program unless they follow the state’s equal-access rules.
Colorado’s universal preschool program, approved by voters in 2020, gives families up to 15 hours of free preschool each week at participating schools, SCOTUSblog reports.
Both sides, in plain terms
Catholic challengers — the Archdiocese of Denver, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton, Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, and parents Daniel and Lisa Sheley — say the state shut them out because of their religious beliefs. Their lawyers at the Becket Fund call the case “uncomplicated,” arguing Colorado “knowingly excluded Catholic preschools solely on account of their religious exercise,” according to NBC News.
Catholic teaching does not recognize same-sex relationships or transgender status. The schools say they cannot sign Colorado’s nondiscrimination agreement, which requires equal enrollment regardless of a child’s or parent’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Colorado, led by Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, says religious schools are welcome if they follow the same rules as everyone else. State lawyers told the Court the Catholic preschools “want to receive public funding without complying with those conditions,” NBC News reports.
Catholic Charities schools already take part in the program. Those schools do not require families to follow parish teaching the same way, according to NBC News.
Who is arguing, and what comes next
- Petitioners get 20 minutes; the Trump Justice Department, backing the schools as a friend of the court, gets 10 minutes; Colorado gets 30 minutes, the Court’s day call shows.
- Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris argues for the United States.
- The challengers lost in lower courts, including the 10th Circuit. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in April 2026.
- A ruling is expected by summer 2027, The Hill reports.
The Sheleys say they missed more than $12,000 in tuition help by choosing a parish preschool. The archdiocese runs 34 Colorado preschools; filings cited by The Hill say enrollment has fallen nearly 20% since the state program began.
The dispute sits at the crossroads of religious liberty and LGBTQ civil rights — a fight Colorado has seen before at the high court. For now, the justices are only hearing arguments. They have not decided who wins.
Sources: NBC News; SCOTUSblog; The Hill; Supreme Court day call (PDF); SCOTUS docket 25-581
