Today: Supreme Court to Hear St Mary Catholic Parish v Roy Colorado Preschool Case November 3 2026

Dan and Lisa Sheley have seven children, and they wanted a Catholic preschool close to home, paid for in part by the state programme promised to every Colorado family. Becket, the legal group representing the family, says the Sheleys had to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket instead, because their parish preschool could not join Colorado's Universal Preschool programme. On Tuesday, 3 November 2026, at about 10 a.m. Eastern time, their case reaches the United States Supreme Court.

The case is St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. It will be argued in Washington on the same day as the midterm elections, the ABA Journal reports. Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser, who is running for governor, defends the state programme. Becket says Nicholas Reaves will argue for the parents and preschools, and the Sheleys will speak to reporters after the hearing.

St Mary Catholic Parish v Roy Supreme Court Hearing November 3 2026

Colorado voters approved the programme in 2020, and the state launched it in 2023, the ABA Journal reports. Every four-year-old is offered up to 15 hours of free preschool each week, at a public or private provider of the family's choice. Every provider must sign an agreement covering the state's quality standards, including a nondiscrimination rule covering religious affiliation, sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, which oversees 34 Catholic preschools, says the rule clashes with Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality. Tracy Seul, preschool director at St. Mary's Parish in Littleton, testified that the archdiocese found the agreement would conflict with its beliefs and told its preschools not to apply right away. The plaintiffs are St. Mary in Littleton, St. Bernadette in Lakewood, the archdiocese and the Sheley family, EconoTimes reports.

Abriana Chilelli, then acting superintendent of schools for the Denver archdiocese, testified in 2024 that the Church understands marriage as between a man and a woman, the ABA Journal reports. Lisa Roy, executive director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, testified in 2023 that she could not grant an accommodation to a nondiscrimination statement in statute. The two testimonies capture the gap: the state sees one more standard form, and the parishes see a promise they cannot sign in good conscience.

Colorado Preschool Funding Figures and Lower Court Rulings

The money figures need care, because they measure different things. Becket says the programme benefit is worth about $6,000 per child. EconoTimes, citing the district court record, reports separately that the Sheleys lacked about $4,700 in tuition assistance for the 2023-24 school year because St. Mary's was not taking part. The first is Becket's general value for the benefit, and the second is the shortfall for one school year, so the numbers should not be added together. Becket also says enrolment at archdiocesan preschools fell 20 percent and two schools closed, a claim presented here as Becket's account, not a state-confirmed figure.

Colorado argues the rule protects every family. Attorney General Weiser says in his brief that the state encourages religious schools to take part if they agree to the nondiscrimination rule, the ABA Journal reports. The state says the challengers seek public funding while excluding families based on sexual orientation, gender identity and religious affiliation. A district court ruled for Colorado in June 2024, and the Tenth Circuit affirmed in September 2025, applying Employment Division v. Smith, EconoTimes reports.

The justices agreed to hear the case on 20 April 2026, limited to two questions, EconoTimes reports. The first asks whether Colorado's treatment of other enrolment preferences affects whether its rule is neutral and generally applicable under Smith, the 1990 decision on neutral laws. The second asks whether Carson v. Makin, the 2022 ruling barring Maine from excluding religious schools from tuition aid solely because they were religious, applies only when a state explicitly excludes religious institutions. The Court declined to consider overturning Smith.

The parishes argue the rule is not generally applicable, because Colorado allows preferences for particular groups, the ABA Journal reports. Their brief points to a provision a state official testified would allow a preschool to limit enrolment to gender-nonconforming children or prioritise children of colour. The federal goverment filed in support of the petitioners, and the solicitor general will take part in argument, EconoTimes reports. Becket says a ruling is expected by the end of June 2027, and this article makes no prediction about the outcome.

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When the hearing ends, the Sheleys will walk out and face the ordinary question every parent recognises: where will the children go to school next year, and what will it cost to keep them where their faith is taught as well as their letters. For their family and for 34 parish preschools, the answer will wait for the justices.

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