Published August 11, 2026 at 4:50 PM ET · Updated August 12, 2026 at 1:30 AM ET
Supreme Court to hear case of Catholic preschool excluded from Colorado program over LGBTQ policy
1 independent outlet is covering this story, first reported here by Daily Signal. Verification: Watching (how we verify). Every headline links to the original reporting.
The Supreme Court will hear a case involving a Catholic preschool that was excluded from a Colorado program. The exclusion was related to the school's stance on LGBTQ policy.
Patriot Watch first flagged this story 10 hr ago, when Daily Signal reported it. So far this remains a single-source report. The most recent report came 10 hr ago from Daily Signal.
⚖ The Constitutional Angle
Under Carson v. Makin, a state that subsidizes private education cannot bar a school for being religious, and the Free Exercise Clause forbids both status-based and use-based exclusion. Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue confirms this for tax-credit scholarships. Colorado's exclusion of the preschool over its LGBTQ policy tests whether conditioning a benefit on faith-rejected norms is forbidden use-based discrimination.
Carson v. Makin 596 U.S. 767 (2022)
Vote: 6-3
Maine's requirement that private schools be 'nonsectarian' to receive tuition assistance for students from districts without public secondary schools violates the Free Exercise Clause. The Court rejected the status/use distinction as a limit: 'the prohibition on status-based discrimination under the Free Exercise Clause is not a permission to engage in use-based discrimination.'
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue 591 U.S. 464 (2020)
Vote: 5-4
Applying Montana's constitutional no-aid provision to bar religious schools (and families choosing them) from a generally available tax-credit scholarship program discriminates based on religious status, triggers strict scrutiny under Trinity Lutheran, and violates the Free Exercise Clause; a state need not subsidize private education, but once it does, it cannot disqualify schools solely because they are religious.
Precedent facts from the PW Law Library — primary-source verified & independently audited
