Case over state funding for Catholic preschools in Colorado comes before the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Tuesday in a case involving Catholic preschools that claim it is unconstitutional to exclude them from a state-funded program due to their admissions policy for LGBTQ+ families. This is the latest religious-rights case before the conservative-majority court. The Catholic preschools, along with St. Mary Catholic Parish and the Archdiocese of Denver, argue that the state's refusal to admit children from these families violates the state's anti-discrimination law.

They believe their policy is rooted in religious teachings about same-sex marriage and that excluding them also infringes upon their free-exercise rights. President Donald Trump's administration is backing the Catholic institutions. A favorable ruling for the preschools could further limit the scope of a 1990 Supreme Court decision that stated religious practices do not exempt individuals from laws applicable to everyone.