Colorado Department for Early Childhood Ordered to Pay $1 for Discriminating Against Catholic Preschools

A file photograph of a judge's gavel. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A federal judge has fined the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) $1 for discriminating against Catholic preschools by preventing them from participating in the state’s universal preschool program.

Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane ruled on Tuesday that the department violated the constitution by excluding Catholic preschools from the program on the basis of “religious affiliation.”

“The department has allowed faith-based providers to deny children and families equal opportunity based on their religious affiliation, or lack thereof, and has cited no compelling interest for permitting that discrimination while denying Plaintiffs’ request for a related exemption,” Judge Kane stated in a 101-page ruling.

“On that narrow basis, I conclude Defendants have violated Plaintiffs’ free-exercise rights and that judgment in favor of Plaintiffs is warranted,” the judge added.

Judge Kane said that the CDEC’s decision to exclude Catholic preschools from the program “created an unworkable scheme that breaches the appropriate limits on state power.”

“Defendants have failed to establish a compelling interest justifying their denial of an exemption from the religious-affiliation aspect of the equal-opportunity requirement for Plaintiff preschools. Thus, because strict scrutiny was triggered and is not satisfied, Plaintiffs’ exercise rights have been violated in this regard,” the judge stated.

The lawsuit was filed against Lisa Roy, executive director of the CDEC, and Dawn Odean, director of Colorado’s universal preschool program, in August 2023.

The plaintiffs—St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, as well as a Catholic family—asked the court to stop the department from excluding Catholic preschools from the program. They also sought $1 in nominal damages from the defendants.

According to the ruling, the CDEC funded 15 hours of free preschool per week for over 40,000 children attending 1,900 different preschools across Colorado in its first year. Among these, 900 children were attending 40 faith-based preschools.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the plaintiffs, said the department denied this benefit to families sending their children to the plaintiffs’ preschools on the grounds that “the preschools ask families to share their beliefs.”

“Of course a Catholic school shouldn’t be punished for caring about its students’ religion,” Nick Reaves, counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said in a statement.

“Colorado richly deserves this injunction, as it did the earlier one,” he added. Another federal judge in Denver ruled against Colorado last year in a case brought by a separate religious preschool that raised similar claims.

A CDEC spokesperson said the department cannot comment on pending litigation.