About St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy

Colorado’s Empty Promise: Exclusion Masked as Inclusion 

All parents want the best for their children. For many parents, that starts with a top-notch preschool education, which is usually expensive. Starting in 2023, Colorado promised to help families cover that cost by offering “universal” preschool (UPK) funding, giving families 15 hours of free preschool per week—worth about $6,300 per year—at the public, private, or faith-based preschool of their choice.  

But that promise came with an asterisk: families who chose Catholic preschools were cut out entirely. Colorado’s Department of Early Childhood claimed that these Catholic preschools’ religious exercise—asking all families who enroll to support and uphold the Catholic Church’s teachings—was inconsistent with the funding program’s requirements. But at the same time, Colorado has allowed countless secular preschools to impose rules that similarly limit who is able to enroll. For example, the state allows secular preschools to serve only low-income families, families receiving housing vouchers, and kids with disabilities. And, worse, Colorado officials admitted to a clear double standard: families would be allowed to use state funding to send their children to preschools that prioritized LGBTQ families, transgender children, or even children of a specific race, but not to Catholic preschools.

The Human Cost: Families and Schools Devastated

Colorado’s religious discrimination has denied thousands of preschoolers—many from middle and lower-income families—access to the free preschool hours the State considers critically important for helping these children thrive. Colorado built its reputation on inclusion—apparently, that includes everyone except Catholic families. 

Catholic families, like the Sheleys, have been forced either to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket or to pull their children from the preschool of their choice. The schools themselves have also felt the effects: preschool enrollment across the Archdiocese of Denver is down twenty percent, and two preschools in the Archdiocese have closed since the lawsuit began.

The Supreme Court Steps In 

The Supreme Court has said three times in the last decade that the government cannot deny religious groups equal access to public benefits—including school-choice programs—simply because of their faith. Colorado has done exactly that. 

St. Mary’s preschool provides a quality early education rooted in Catholic values. Families who chose St. Mary’s were denied UPK funding for one reason alone: the school’s religious beliefs. Not its curriculum. Not its qualifications. Its faith. 

The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear the case. Becket is asking the Court to do what Colorado would not: support families, protect religious schools, and establish once and for all that parents cannot be shut out of public programs simply because they choose a faith-based education for their children. 

Universal must mean universal. For everyone.