Supreme Court to Hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy Preschool Case on November 3

Two small preschools, two parishes, and up to about $6,000 per child. That is what is at stake when the United States Supreme Court hears arguments on 3 November. The case asks whether Colorado can keep Catholic preschools out of its universal preschool programme because they will not sign up to a rule that, the schools say, asks them to act against their faith.

On November 3, 2026, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, case number 25-581. The case concerns two Catholic parishes with preschools in the Archdiocese of Denver: St. Bernadette in Lakewood and St. Mary in Littleton. The parishes alleged the state of Colorado excluded them from the state's universal preschool programme due to their religious beliefs.

Colorado launched its Universal Preschool Program in 2023, providing funds of up to about $6,000 to parents to send their child to the preschool of their choice. Becket, the religious-liberty firm representing the parishes, puts the amount at more than $6,000 per eligible child.

To participate, each preschool provider must provide eligible children an equal opportunity to enroll and receive preschool services regardless of race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability. That rule is the heart of the dispute.

Colorado Preschool Rule at the Centre of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy

The Catholic preschools say complying with that rule would force them to violate their religious beliefs. They say it would affect their requirements that enrolling families be supportive of the Catholic Church's teachings on sex and marriage, and that enrolled four-year-olds be treated in accordance with their biological sex. Becket represents the schools, and both preschools ask families to be supportive of the Catholic faith.

Colorado's position is different, and it must be given in its own terms too. Colorado argued in its filing that the petitioners seek an exemption to allow them to receive public funding while turning away preschoolers because of their, or their parents', gender identity or sexual orientation. In Colorado's account, the rule is not about targeting a faith, but about making sure no child is excluded from a programme paid for with public funds.

According to reporting on Colorado's brief, witnesses for the schools testified that they would deny enrollment to a gender-diverse child or the child of same-sex or gender-diverse parents. That account comes from Colorado's brief and the reporting of it, and this article attributes it that way. It is not presented here as a court finding, because no court has made that finding in this case.

Both Sides in the Supreme Court Catholic Preschool Case

The Human Rights Campaign, in its press release about the hearing, described the case as one that could impact critical protections for Colorado's LGBTQ families. That is the campaign group's framing. For supporters of the rule, the case is about keeping protections in place for all families, while for the preschools it is about whether a faith-based school can take part in a public programme without giving up the beliefs that define it.

Both a federal district court and the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state was not targeting or punishing the Catholic preschools because of their faith. The lower courts largely sided with Colorado. In April, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and a decision would come after oral arguments and before the end of the court's term next summer.

Archbishop James Golka of Denver urged prayers as the court prepares to hear the case, saying Colorado has since 2023 excluded the Archdiocese of Denver's preschools from its universal preschool programme.

All because we offer the distinctly Catholic education that attracts so many families to our schools.

That line comes from Archbishop Golka, urging prayers ahead of the hearing, as reported by The Catholic Herald. Golka also said Catholic education forms children in virtues that prepare them for the next life, alongside practical skills for this one.

The case has been followed before as a Supreme Court question about Colorado and Catholic preschools, including in the earlier report that the Supreme Court would decide if Colorado can block Catholic preschools. Other church cases show how often faith and public rules collide, as churches winning an appeal over immigration raids at houses of worship and a UK church fighting a ban on street preaching in court each show.

What Happens Next After the November 3 Supreme Court Hearing

After 3 November, the waiting begins. The justices will hear the arguments and issue a decision before the end of the term next summer. Until then, the two preschools remain outside the programme.

The questions the court must answer are narrow, even if the feelings around them are wide. Can a state condition public preschool funds on a non-discrimination rule that covers sexual orientation and gender identity, and can a faith-based preschool take the funds while holding to teachings that the state says the rule forbids it to act on. The answers will shape how other states write similar programmes, and how other faith-based schools respond.

Readers following religious liberty disputes in Britain will recognise a familiar tension in the arguments, as Christians warning about the UK conversion therapy bill shows in a different legal setting. The settings are seperate, but the core question is shared: where does a public rule end, and where does a faith community's freedom to live by its beliefs begin.

No court has yet decided that question for St. Bernadette and St. Mary, and the hearing on 3 November will not decide it either. It will only open the argument before the justices who must decide it. That question will stay open until the decision comes down next summer.

But the most surprising part of this story is yet to come — keep reading.