PFPS and Allies Urge Supreme Court to Uphold Colorado Law Protecting Preschoolers and their Families from Discrimination
Public Funds Public Schools, along with the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and over two dozen Education and Constitutional Law Scholars from around the country, filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy. The case challenges the federal constitutionality of Colorado’s law prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ+ and other students in publicly funded preschools and is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Colorado’s universal preschool program was designed to ensure that all young children in the state have access to free, high-quality schooling the year before kindergarten. To facilitate universal access, the state funds—and families may choose—public or private preschools, including faith-based providers. All preschool providers receiving public funds must comply with various quality and legal standards, including a nondiscrimination requirement that protects Colorado’s most vulnerable children.
“All young children deserve equal access to publicly funded preschool opportunities,” said Patrick Cremin, Education Law Center Staff Attorney working on PFPS. “That’s why it is critical to ensure that antidiscrimination laws like Colorado’s are upheld as constitutional—not just in one state, but across the nation—so that every child can attend publicly funded schools free from discrimination."
In 2023, St. Mary Catholic Parish and other providers filed a lawsuit in federal district court alleging that the state preschool program’s nondiscrimination requirement violates their federal constitutional rights by requiring them, as a condition of receiving public funds but against their religious beliefs, to serve LGBTQ+ preschoolers and families. The nondiscrimination requirement was upheld by the district court. The parishes appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, which also upheld the requirement. The parishes then appealed to the Supreme Court.
The PFPS amicus brief urges the Supreme Court to uphold the application of the nondiscrimination requirement to all preschool providers receiving public funds, whether public or private, religious or secular. The brief underscores the importance of accessible, high-quality, and nondiscriminatory preschool for children’s academic and life outcomes.
"Public education belongs to every child. No family should have to worry that their child will be turned away from a publicly funded preschool because of who they are. Educators see every day that children learn and thrive when they are welcomed, supported and treated with dignity,” said NEA President Princess Moss. “Public dollars should never be used to fund discrimination. Colorado is right to ensure that every child who participates in its universal preschool program has an equal opportunity to learn and thrive, and we urge the Supreme Court to uphold that protection.”
The brief also states that permitting discriminatory exclusion in publicly funded preschools would not only stifle these educational and social benefits, but also undermine the goals of universal preschool access. Requiring the State to pay for schools that do not accept LGBTQ+ students and families means that all Colorado children are not entitled to the same opportunities. Forcing Colorado, or any state, to fund preschool providers that object to nondiscrimination requirements also sets a dangerous precedent that could jeopardize other civil rights laws protecting various vulnerable groups.
"States have been in the business of designing and providing education systems open to all for going on two centuries and, for the past seventy years, have increasingly treated nondiscrimination as essential to that government function,” said Derek Black, law professor at the University of South Carolina. “The First Amendment was never intended to block states from doing that job – particularly when the state is the one picking up the bill."
"Every child—regardless of who they are or who their parents love—deserves the opportunity to learn, and deserves that opportunity free from discrimination,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “Public dollars come with public responsibilities, and one of the most basic is that taxpayer money should not be used to discriminate. This case isn’t just about preschools. It’s about whether the Supreme Court will allow a single ruling to weaken the nondiscrimination protections that generations have fought to build into our laws."
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