Christian World | The US Supreme Court heard Denver Catholic parishes' challenge to Colorado's universal preschool rules on Nov. 3; reports said most justices seemed open to it

ACW | November 4, 2026 — The US Supreme Court on Tuesday heard a challenge by two Catholic parishes and the Archdiocese of Denver to admission rules in Colorado's universal preschool program, according to the official argument transcript.

The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy (No. 25-581), was filed in 2023 by St. Mary parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette parish in Lakewood, joined by the archdiocese and several parents, The Christian Post reported.

Colorado requires participating preschools to give every child an equal opportunity to enroll regardless of eight protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender identity, the National Catholic Register reported. The archdiocese says it wants to weigh admissions case by case in line with Catholic teaching.

Nicholas Reaves, senior counsel at the law firm Becket, argued for the parishes. Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris argued for the federal government in support of the parishes, and Colorado Deputy Solicitor General Helen Norton defended the state.

"We're creating a Catholic community," Reaves told the justices, according to the transcript. Norton said families "are harmed when they're turned away from the publicly funded school," the Register reported.

A majority of the justices sounded ready to rule for the Catholic preschools, the Register said, and SCOTUSblog headlined its report "Court seems poised to side with Catholic preschools." It is not clear when the court will rule.

Background: A federal district court ruled against the parishes in 2024, and a Tenth Circuit panel upheld that decision in 2025, The Christian Post reported. The Supreme Court agreed on April 20, 2026, to take the case, the Archdiocese of Denver said. ACW earlier reported that New York's archbishop joined nuns' lawsuit over the state's assisted-dying law.

Why it matters: Some observers expect the court could use the case to revisit its 1990 ruling in Employment Division v. Smith, a decision many religious freedom advocates criticize, the National Catholic Register reported. Colorado has more than 2,000 preschool providers, and 34 schools of the Archdiocese of Denver offer the program, the Register said.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: US Supreme Court — official transcript, No. 25-581; National Catholic Register (EWTN News) — U.S. Supreme Court leans toward Catholic schools in clash over pre-K funding; The Christian Post — Supreme Court weighs Colorado preschool case

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