Colorado’s new universal prekindergarten program, designed to provide at least 15 hours a week of taxpayer-funded preschool for every child in the state, has requirements that unfairly shut out Catholic Church-run programs, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Denver.
The Archdiocese of Denver and two Catholic parishes — St. Mary’s in Littleton and St. Bernadette in Lakewood — argue in the lawsuit that the regulations that dictate which schools qualify for state funds block Catholic parents from using the program unless they place their children in schools that don’t reflect — or even undermine their religious beliefs.
“Colorado is slamming the door on hundreds of parents that need help sending their kids to preschool, all because the schools that are best for their kids reflect their beliefs,” Becket Fund for Religious Liberty attorney Nick Reaves said in a statement. The public interest law firm represents the plaintiffs in the case.
He said, “We are asking the court to stop Colorado’s campaign against preschoolers and the schools that want to serve them. Families should be free to choose the private school that best meets their needs — whether it is secular or religious.”
The church-affiliated preschools prioritize Catholic families in enrollment and support church teachings about marriage and gender, requiring teachers and administrators to uphold their teachings “in both word and dead,” according to the lawsuit.
Preschools that are supported by state funding are required to sign a “Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado Program Service Agreement” requiring providers to offer enrollment and services without regard to “race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, lack of housing, income level, or disability.” A separate “Terms and Conditions” document bars discrimination “against any person” on terms that also include religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
The open enrollment requirement, along with conditions about the admission of students and the hiring of employees without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, the lawsuit said, “directly conflict” with the parish’s “religious obligations” to promote Catholic teachings through its preschool program.
The suit also argues that the Catholic programs reach families in financial distress, and the lack of state funding disadvantages church schools. The schools have substantial groups of students who qualify for free and reduced-price school meals — 85% of St. Bernadette’s families are in that category, they said — while a quarter of St. Mary’s families get discounted tuition or scholarships for preschool classes.
In “creating a program that provides ‘universal’ funding for preschool programs, Colorado has cornered the market for preschool services,” the lawsuit alleges, and those providers who do not participate “will be forced to charge significantly higher prices than the participating programs” that accept the state’s terms.
The suit said “several families” in St. Mary’s parish switched to non-Catholic providers because of the state-approved schools’ cost advantage over the Catholic schools. Attorneys also claimed the state program “has made affording preschool a challenge” for families using the service at St. Bernadette’s and “has deterred prospective parents from applying.”
According to the suit, “Colorado did not have to create a universal preschool funding program, but in doing so it cannot implement that program in a way that excludes certain religious groups and providers based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.”
Mr. Reaves, the attorney, said, “Universal should mean universal” when it comes to preschool education.
Hope Shuler, marketing and communications director for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, emailed The Washington Times and said, “We don’t comment on pending litigation.”
• Mark A. Kellner can be reached at mkellner@washingtontimes.com.