Latest: Supreme Court to Hear St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy on November 3 Over Colorado Preschool Funding

Dan and Lisa Sheley have seven children, and for years the maths of preschool in their house was simple enough to explain at the kitchen table. Colorado promised families 15 hours of free preschool a week, worth about $6,000 per child, according to Becket, the legal group representing the family. The Sheleys say they could not use that promise at the Catholic preschools they wanted, and ended up paying thousands of dollars out of pocket instead.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, their case reaches the United States Supreme Court. Oral argument in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, No. 25-581, is scheduled for approximately 10:00 a.m. ET at the Supreme Court, 1 First Street NE, Washington, DC. Becket says the Court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of June 2027, and no outcome has been predicted in the reporting consulted for this article.

The challengers are a Littleton parish, the Archdiocese of Denver and a Catholic family, represented by Becket. Lead attorney Nicholas Reaves will argue the case, and Becket says Dan and Lisa Sheley, described by Becket as Catholic parents of seven, will speak to media after the argument.

How Colorado's Universal Preschool Program Reached the Supreme Court

Colorado voters approved universal preschool for four-year-olds in 2020, and the state Department of Early Childhood launched the program in 2023. Capitol Patriot, citing a National Constitution Center preview, reports the program enrolled more than 40,000 children at over 2,000 sites last school year, with roughly 40 faith-based preschools serving more than 900 children taking part in 2023-24.

Participating providers must give every eligible child an equal opportunity to enroll regardless of religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity and other categories. Capitol Patriot reports that Archdiocesan preschools give admission preference to families who share or support Catholic teaching, including on marriage and sex, could not sign the requirement as written, and were treated as ineligible.

Becket says all Archdiocese of Denver preschools were excluded, that more than 1,500 children at over 30 Catholic preschools were left ineligible, that enrollment has fallen 20 percent since the program began, and that two schools have shuttered.

The lower courts went the other way. The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado found the non-discrimination requirements neutral and generally applicable and not in violation of the First Amendment, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed. Capitol Patriot reports a unanimous Tenth Circuit panel affirmed on September 30, 2025, and Becket says the families have been litigating since 2023.

The Two Questions Before the Justices

Capitol Patriot reports the legal questions turn on three earlier decisions: Employment Division v. Smith (1990), Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021) and Carson v. Makin (2022). The Court granted review on April 20, limited to two questions, and Capitol Patriot reports it declined the parish's invitation to overrule Smith outright.

That limit matters. It means Tuesday's argument is a focused argument about the questions the Court chose to hear, not an open debate about every corner of religious freedom law.

Capitol Patriot also reports the Solicitor General backs the Catholic challengers and, under an October 5 order, will share argument time. Twenty-one Republican-led states filed in support of the challengers, while Colorado is joined by 18 Democratic-led states, the Congressional Equality Caucus and groups including the National Women's Law Center, according to the same report.

What Each Side Says the Case Is About

Becket presents the case as one about equal treatment: families in a public program, it argues, should not lose the benefit because the preschool they choose is Catholic. The Human Rights Campaign presents the opposing position. In an October 26, 2026 statement, it says the case will determine whether schools in the state-funded program can refuse to enroll students from LGBTQ+ families.

The Human Rights Campaign also says the Congressional Equality Caucus filed an amicus brief in August urging the Court to uphold the protections, and that a ruling is expected next year. Neither side's characterisation is settled fact, and this article reports each position as that side stated it.

Readers following this dispute can also read the earlier Supreme Court hearing in the Catholic preschool case in Colorado, the new network launching Christian school scholarships under a federal tax credit, and the Lilly Endowment opening $300 million for campus ministries. The seperate thread running through all three is the same question the justices will hear on Tuesday: when public money helps pay for education, whose rules follow the money?

What Happens After November 3

After argument, the waiting starts. Becket says a ruling is expected by the end of June 2027, which leaves months in which preschools, families and state officials will have to plan without knowing which rule will govern next year's enrollment. That uncertainty is itself part of the story for the Sheleys and for every family weighing a preschool place this winter.

Will the justices find a middle path that keeps both the funding and the non-discrimination rule intact, will they side with the parish and reshape how states can attach conditions to preschool money, or will the lower-court rulings stand? The argument on November 3 will give the first real clues, in the questions from the bench and in the answers the advocates struggle to give, and the families at the centre of it will be listening from the front row.

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