U.S. Solicitor General, 21 states, 43 members of Congress, leading legal scholars, and diverse faith groups urge Supreme Court to end Colorado’s religious discrimination Broad coalition files 29 amicus briefs calling on Justices to end Colorado’s exclusion of Catholic preschools

 WASHINGTON – In a striking display of unity, the U.S. Solicitor General, members of Congress, 21 states, diverse faith groups, and leading legal scholars have filed a total of 29 friend-of-the-court briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stop Colorado from excluding Catholic preschools and families from the state’s “universal” preschool program because of their faith. In St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld Colorado’s religious discrimination, punishing faith-based preschools and the families they serve for operating according to their religious beliefs. With Becket’s help, Catholic parents and preschools asked the Supreme Court to step in, and the Court agreed to hear the case this fall.

Highlights from the friend-of-the-court briefs include: 

• The Solicitor General of the United States argued among other things that “The substantial burden on religious schools’ ability to engage in core religious exercise is patent.”  

• 21 states, led by West Virginia, urged the Supreme Court to stop governments hostile to religion from covertly excluding disfavored religious groups. 

• 43 members of Congress highlighted how including religious providers in education programs is important for families and consistent with our Nation’s history. 

• A wide array of diverse faith groups, including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, the Islam and Religious Freedom Action Team, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, the National Apostolic Christian Leadership Conference, the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, and the Coalition for Jewish Values emphasized the problems facing specific religious groups.

• Religious liberty law scholars Stephanie Barclay and Mark Storslee explained that including religious groups in government education funding programs is consistent with Founding-era practices and understandings.

• Campus student groups, including The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, The Navigators, Campus Crusade for Christ, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Young Life, and Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, detailed the hostility to religion engendered by the notorious decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez and asked that the Court overrule it.

• Professors Douglas Laycock, Tom Berg, and Chris Lund, representing Christian Legal Society, argued that the Court should find a Free Exercise Clause violation by Colorado and overrule Martinez.

• The Conscience Project and five Colorado families detailed the important role Catholic education has played for their families and the harms of Colorado’s religious discrimination.

• Public policy groups, think tanks, law school centers, and education choice advocates, including EdChoice, Manhattan Institute, The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies, and Notre Dame Law School Education Law Project, affirmed the importance of religious schools as options for families and the continued efforts to exclude them from publicly available programs.  

Statements for media use: 

Dan and Lisa Sheley, Catholic parents of seven and Becket clients in the case: 

“We’re grateful that so many people from across the country are rallying behind our case. Colorado promised preschool for all, but then showed Catholic families the door. That’s unfair to parents, unfair to children, and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution’s promise of religious freedom.” 

Erika Navarrete Nagle, Catholic mother of three whose children attend St. Mary’s:

“It’s humbling to see this outpouring of support for families like mine. We chose to send our children to St. Mary’s because it’s where they are known, loved, and formed in our faith. Colorado shouldn’t punish us for making that choice. Universal means everyone, or it means nothing.” 

Eric Rassbach, senior counsel at Becket and attorney for the families and preschools: 

“Colorado has united a diverse array of Americans around a simple point: it’s wrong to promise preschool support to every family in the State and then yank it away from Catholic families. This broad coalition shows just how egregious and unlawful Colorado’s religious discrimination has become. We’re confident the Court will remind Colorado—once again—that the First Amendment protects religious people too.” 

The Court will hear oral arguments in the fall. 

For more information or to arrange an interview with a Becket attorney, contact Ryan Colby at [email protected] or 202-349-7219.