Supreme Court hears oral arguments in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy over Colorado preschool nondiscrimination requirement

The Supreme Court heard roughly two hours of oral arguments on November 3, 2026 in a case brought by the Archdiocese of Denver and two Catholic parishes challenging Colorado's refusal to exempt them from the universal preschool program's nondiscrimination rules. Colorado requires participating providers to offer equal enrollment opportunity regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity; the Catholic schools say compliance would violate their religious beliefs and Free Exercise rights. The conservative majority appeared receptive to the schools' arguments, while the three liberal justices appeared concerned about allowing religious exemptions from antidiscrimination rules.