Supreme Court Hears Catholic Pre-K Exclusion Fight
Justices questioned Colorado’s UPK rules that bar schools upholding Catholic teaching on marriage and gender; a decision is due by June.
On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a challenge brought by St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton, the Archdiocese of Denver, and Catholic parents who pay out of pocket for preschool. Becket represents the families and schools. Principal Deputy Solicitor General Sarah Harris, representing the Trump administration, also argued on the Catholic side.
Colorado’s universal pre-kindergarten program, approved by voters in 2020 and funded by tobacco-related tax increases, allocates about $360 million for 2026–27 and pays providers roughly $6,100 a year for 15 hours a week of instruction for 4-year-olds. State law requires participating preschools to give children “an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services” regardless of eight protected classes, including sexual orientation and gender identity. Catholic schools ask families to sign a statement of community beliefs affirming Church teaching on marriage, sexuality, and gender.
Nicholas Reaves of Becket told the Court the schools “exist to pass on the faith to the next generation.” After argument he said Colorado’s rules are “Catholics-need-not-apply rules” that “make a mockery of our nation’s laws and commitment to religious freedom.”
Justices Probe the State’s Choice
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a Catholic, called the case “a solution in search of a problem,” noting Colorado has more than 2,000 pre-K providers against 34 Archdiocese of Denver schools offering the service. He asked why the dispute had been “provoked when there’s an ability for everyone to go to the school, a good school, that’s a fit for them, and to respect religious rights,” and questioned whether Colorado’s UPK director was right to say she was unaware Catholics have historically faced discrimination. Colorado Deputy Solicitor General Helen Norton replied, “Not at all, Your Honor.”
Justice Amy Coney Barrett asked Colorado’s lawyer, “Why are we here?,” observing that no family had ever asked St. Mary’s to change its policies. Chief Justice John Roberts said the effect of Colorado’s law seemed “pretty much the same” as the Maine tuition law the Court struck down in Carson v. Makin (2022).
Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the Catholic schools are “not being excluded on their face” but are choosing not to participate, and asked whether they are saying “we’ll exclude your children, if their parents are homosexual.” She also suggested the Court might need to overrule Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2011). Some observers see the case as a possible vehicle to revisit Employment Division v. Smith (1990).
Norton argued that “Colorado welcomes religious preschools” and that “UPK is neutral towards religion.”
Enrollment Losses and the Road Ahead
Archdiocesan preschool enrollment has fallen 20 percent since UPK began, and two schools have closed. A federal trial court in January 2024 and the Tenth Circuit in 2025 both sided with Colorado before the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in April 2026. A ruling is expected by June.
The Catholic parties seek equal access to a publicly funded program without surrendering the right to form children in the faith of the Church.