The conservative-majority US Supreme Court has agreed to review a challenge from Catholic preschools against a Colorado regulation requiring them to admit children of gay or transgender parents to receive public funding.
The left-leaning state offers assistance to pay for public or private, including religious, preschools but has withheld public funds from Catholic institutions due to violations of nondiscrimination rules.
The Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic parishes in Colorado, and two parents, Dan and Lisa Sheley, filed the complaint. After lower courts dismissed their claims, they escalated to the Supreme Court, known for adjudicating major social issues in the US, which will consider their request starting in October, with a decision expected by June 2027.
In a memo to the Supreme Court, Colorado maintained that preschools must accept students regardless of their ethnicity, religion, or parents’ or children’s sexual orientation. The state expressed disappointment that the plaintiffs seek an exemption from this law to receive public funding while rejecting preschool students based on gender identity or sexual orientation of parents or children.
The US Supreme Court, with six conservative and three progressive judges, has shown receptiveness to religious arguments, often from Colorado cases. In late March, it ruled that a law banning “conversion therapies” for LGBT+ minors in the state infringed on freedom of expression, siding with a Christian counselor challenging it. However, in May 2025, it blocked direct funding to a religious school in Oklahoma.
