CLS filed an amicus brief in St. Mary Parish v. Roy, a case in which the State of Colorado promised families “universal” preschool funding worth more than $6,000 per eligible child to use at the public, private, or faith-based preschool of their choice but then denied the benefit to families wishing to send their children to Catholic preschool solely because their preschooler would attend a Catholic school. The brief argues that the state’s discrimination violates the Free Exercise Clause because, by excluding schools that admit only children of heterosexual couples from receiving this financial benefit, the Colorado law is not generally applicable and therefore must satisfy the highest standard the law recognizes: strict scrutiny. The brief argues that the First Amendment rights of the Catholic school are implicated because Colorado carves out this disqualifying admission standard, triggering the requirement that the state treat the school the same unless it can demonstrate there is no way to advance a compelling government interest in a manner less restrictive of or burdensome on the school’s faith mission. The brief was written by two nationally recognized scholars of religious freedom, Professor Tom Berg of St. Thomas University School of Law and Professor Doug Laycock, formerly of the University of Virginia School of Law. Oral argument is expected in the fall of 2026.
