The United States Supreme Court heard arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case that centers on Colorado’s universal preschool program and its exclusion of Catholic preschools from receiving state subsidies. The program guarantees a free seat for every four‑year‑old in the state, with participation from about 2,000 public and private preschools. However, Colorado’s 34 Catholic preschools have been denied the subsidy because the state has refused to accommodate their faith‑based educational model.
During oral argument, Justice Brett Kavanaugh questioned Colorado’s lawyer about the state’s inability to find a “win/win” solution. He noted that many schools welcome families of all backgrounds, and a few Catholic schools could maintain their religious identity while still participating. Kavanaugh described Colorado’s proposal as a “would‑be solution in search of a problem.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor raised a series of probing questions, asking whether a school could reject a child because the parents are homosexual and whether the same logic would apply to excluding black children. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson found no principled difference, while Justice Elena Kagan acknowledged Colorado’s good faith but still referred to the request as a “special accommodation.”
The Catholic schools argue that they ask every family—Catholic or not—to affirm a statement of community beliefs in good faith. The archdiocese had requested accommodation before the program began, but the state labeled its mandate a “hard limit.”
Justice Sotomayor, who has credited her Catholic education with her success, highlighted the irony that rising preschoolers in Colorado may not benefit from a similar faith‑based opportunity. The case also touches on the Court’s earlier decision in Bob Jones University v. United States, where it upheld the IRS’s removal of tax‑exempt status from schools with racially discriminatory policies, emphasizing that ending racial discrimination in education is a compelling state interest.
Colorado argues that its rule is neutral and therefore does not trigger the same scrutiny. The Court must decide whether the state’s exclusion of Catholic preschools constitutes a violation of religious freedom or whether the state’s interest in providing a uniform, non‑discriminatory preschool program outweighs the schools’ request for accommodation.
Source: The Christian Post
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