Supreme Court Signals Support for Catholic Preschools

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices appeared sympathetic to Catholic preschools seeking an exemption from Colorado’s nondiscrimination requirement to receive funding through the state’s universal pre-K program. The schools argue that admitting children of same-sex parents conflicts with their religious beliefs and that conditioning public benefits on compliance violates their First Amendment rights. Colorado says the same enrollment rules apply to religious and secular participants and that the schools are choosing not to participate, rather than being excluded. Liberal justices warned that an exemption could create a special right to discriminate, while Chief Justice John Roberts questioned how broadly either side’s proposed legal rule would apply. At the time, a ruling was expected by June.