The Center for American Liberty has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the Court to protect parental rights and religious liberty in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case challenging Colorado’s exclusion of faith-based preschools from its Universal Preschool Program.
Colorado calls its program “universal,” but for many families of faith, it is anything but.
The state allows parents to choose from a wide range of public and private preschool providers—unless those schools operate according to sincerely held religious beliefs. Faith-based preschools may participate only if they abandon religious admissions policies and other practices central to their religious mission.
That’s not educational choice. It’s government coercion.
CAL’s amicus brief argues that this case is about more than the rights of religious schools. At its core, it is about the constitutional right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
Colorado created a preschool program built around parental choice. But by excluding schools that remain faithful to their religious beliefs, the state is reducing—not expanding—the educational options available to families. Parents who want a faith-based education for their children are forced to choose between receiving a public benefit and remaining true to their convictions.
The Constitution does not permit the government to impose that choice.
Our brief also explains that Colorado’s policy is anything but neutral. The state permits numerous secular enrollment preferences—including those based on income, employer affiliation, language immersion, and community focus—while refusing to accommodate comparable religious preferences. The First Amendment does not allow government to favor secular values while sidelining religious ones.
The stakes extend well beyond Colorado.
If states can label a program “universal” while excluding families who choose faith-based education, educational freedom becomes an empty promise. Parents—not bureaucrats—should decide where their children are educated.
The Center for American Liberty will continue fighting to ensure governments cannot force religious institutions to abandon their faith or parents to abandon their convictions as the price of participating in public programs.
Read the Amicus Brief