Colorado State Capitol in Denver. / Credit: RebeccaDLev/Shutterstock
Denver, Colorado, Oct 1, 2025 / 18:07 pm (CNA).
After years of court battles over the Colorado government’s exclusion of two Catholic preschools from its Universal Preschool Program, a U.S. appeals court ruled against the parishes on Tuesday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals of the 10th Circuit, in a 54-page decision, ruled that Colorado may continue to exclude the Catholic preschools because of their religious beliefs.
The decision comes after a series of court cases involving the state of Colorado’s attempts to exclude the schools from the inception of the program.
Becket, a law firm that defends religious freedom, first filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Catholic parish preschools of the Archdiocese of Denver in August 2023. A federal court in June 2024 ruled that Colorado state discriminated against the Catholic preschools, but ultimately the courts upheld the state’s exclusion of them. The preschools then appealed to the United States Court of Appeals of the 10th Circuit.
Calling the state’s actions “anti-religious” after the court’s ruling, Nick Reaves, senior counsel at Becket, said that Becket will keep fighting the decision.
“Colorado is punishing religious schools and the families they serve for following their faith,” Reaves said in a statement shared with CNA.
“The 10th Circuit’s decision allows the state’s anti-religious gamesmanship to continue,” Reaves continued. “We will keep fighting to ensure that every preschooler in Colorado can access quality, affordable education.”
The Denver Catholic, Denver’s archdiocesan news outlet, called the decision “a blow to Colorado Catholic families with preschool-aged children.”
“The court’s decision thereby perpetuates the faith-based discrimination that faces these Catholic schools and families, who already sacrifice tremendously to provide an excellent, faith-based education for their children,” read the Sept. 30 article by the Denver Catholic.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis celebrated the decision, saying it protects students from “discrimination.”
“We are building a Colorado for all, where every student is free from discrimination,” Polis said in a Sept. 30 statement.
In their admissions process, Catholic preschools in Denver seek to ensure that teachers and families uphold their religious mission, including teachings on sexuality and gender identity — a practice that comes into conflict with the universal pre-K program’s nondiscrimination clause on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Specifically, the Denver Archdiocese requires that staff and parents sign a “Statement of Community Beliefs,” pledging to live according to Catholic Church teaching, which does not recognize gender “transitions” or same-sex marriages.
The court ruled that the program’s restrictive admissions requirements, which prevent the Catholic schools from participating, were “in harmony with the First Amendment.”
The court briefing also said that the Colorado program “went to great effort to be welcoming and inclusive of faith-based preschools’ participation.”
Polis claimed that “many faith based and secular providers are operating terrific preschools that serve parents and children well” and said that the universal pre-K program enrolls “approximately 70% of all eligible 4-year-olds.”
The program also excludes the Denver Jewish Day School’s preschool, according to the school’s website.
The Universal Preschool Program gives taxpayer funding to preschool families for up to 15 hours of preschool to attend qualifying preschools.
“Colorado’s highly popular, free Universal Preschool saves families more than $6,000 per year, gives students a strong start, and has skyrocketed Colorado from 27th in preschool enrollment to third,” Polis said.
Due to the court’s ruling this week, families who wish for their preschool-age children to attend Catholic archdiocesan preschools will be unable to participate in the program.
