by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
(Worthy News) – The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will take up a closely watched case involving religious liberty and government funding, agreeing to hear a dispute over Colorado’s universal preschool program and its exclusion of a Catholic school.
At the center of the case is a challenge brought by the Archdiocese of Denver, which argues that the state’s requirements unfairly penalize faith-based institutions. Colorado’s preschool law mandates that participating schools accept students without regard to religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity. However, Catholic schools maintain enrollment policies aligned with church teachings on these issues.
Church leaders contend the policy effectively sidelines religious schools. In their petition, they argued the state is “reducing access” by steering families toward institutions that align with government views, while excluding those with biblical convictions.
State officials, however, say the law is neutral and applies equally to all schools. Colorado maintains it is not targeting religion but enforcing broad nondiscrimination standards across the program.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit previously upheld the state’s position, ruling that the policy does not single out religious institutions and instead applies uniformly to all participants.
The high court’s decision to hear the case signals continued scrutiny of the balance between religious freedom and public policy. In recent years, the justices have expanded protections for faith-based organizations seeking access to public funding.
The case, St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, is expected to be argued in the Court’s next term, beginning this fall. While the justices are not expected to revisit the landmark Employment Division v. Smith ruling directly, they will examine how courts determine whether laws are truly neutral—or if they cross the line into discrimination against religious belief.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Egyptian archaeologists say new discoveries in northeastern Egypt may help identify a long-lost ancient city that stood along one of the most important military roads of the ancient world — a route many scholars have connected to the biblical account of the Exodus.
Israel’s High Court of Justice has unanimously overturned the government’s decision to close the influential Army Radio after 75 years, ruling that ministers acted at least partly on “improper and invalid” political considerations because they objected to the station’s broadcasts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Jared Kushner that Israel remains firmly opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state, making the position “very clear” during a meeting this week with the Trump adviser, according to a senior Israeli official cited by JNS.
Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf expressed his sorrow Friday after authorities confirmed that a teenager armed with a sword attacked students at a Swedish high school, killing one person and injuring three.
Ukraine is appealing for expanded access to Western satellite technology to help locate and destroy Russian missile launchers and other military targets as relentless Russian drone and missile attacks have killed dozens of civilians within two days, exposing growing shortages in Kyiv’s air defenses.
Millions of Ukrainian men are believed to be attempting to avoid mobilization for the frontline, but many are being hunted down and sometimes harshly detained by authorities as part of a massive drive to reinforce the country’s depleted armed forces.
Hungary’s new president, András Baka, has urged the country’s relaunched public broadcaster to regain the trust of millions of Hungarians after years in which he said it spread falsehoods, as political tensions continued over the dismantling of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s system.