Interview: Ashley McGuire on Colorado’s Preschool Program and the Supreme Court

Since 2023, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood has run a “universal” preschool program providing reduced tuition fees to families with children ages 3-5 statewide. Families are supposed to be able to use this tuition to attend preschool at a lower cost, so they can choose their own preschool, regardless of whether it is a secular or religious space.

However, Catholic schools are not included within this program, and a lawsuit against the state became large enough in scope to reach the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Nov. 3 in this case, labeled St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy.

According to the Becket Fund’s description of this case, parents initially could sign up for a Catholic school they liked—only for Colorado to pull the wool over their eyes as Catholic schools were not included in universal preschool tuition a year after the program was announced.

Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with the Catholic Association, argued in a phone interview conducted on Nov. 4 that the state government took an action that was “discriminatory” and “unconstitutional.”

Financial strain

From a child development standpoint, almost all public schools have become a Trojan horse for age-inappropriate, unhealthy concepts, including LGBT content.

“There’s a reason people want to put their kids in parochial schools, and part of it is because they want to pass the faith on to their children and their parents or the primary educators of their children, but they also want to get their kids out of environments where they’re being exposed to stuff like that,” McGuire stated.

Across Colorado, many families have needed to pay more to attend Catholic schools as an alternative to public schools since the universal preschool program was established. McGuire compared this situation to a “second tax” due to financial strains unreasonably placed on these families just to find schools that were appropriate for their children.

She said families have often “forgone tens of thousands of dollars” and experienced “several years of not being able to take advantage of this program despite the fact that they’re taxpayers” since the universal tuition started in 2023.

Because of this faith-related discrimination, many families within Colorado have been paying extra to attend Catholic schools and “making sacrifices,” said McGuire. Across the U.S., taxpayers are paying for this program, only to see that the intended audience cannot get any benefit.

McGuire wrote about the unfair competition caused when some parents were placing their children in a secular school “for purely financial reasons”: “It hurts the Catholic schools.” The Colorado state government is observably guilty of unethical protectionism causing artificial scarcity for Catholic schools.

It appears to be some kind of monopoly that the state is running, fueled by “students who are potentially being excluded from these schools because their parents aren’t able to send them there,” to use her words.

The state’s discrimination is illegal under the First Amendment, and goes against established court precedents such as the Sherbert Test. Religious discrimination, according to the Constitution, is a clear equal protection issue.

Under the Sherbert Test, to name one such constitutional litmus test, the Catholic families suing the Colorado state government sincerely identify with Catholic doctrine; however, the government anti-discrimination mandates are imposing a burden on them, and the children should not be forced to go to public school.

Expected outcome

Is there a less restrictive way of solving the problem? Yes, there is.

“The good news is that the Supreme Court has developed a very broad and consistent jurisprudence protecting religious liberty and bolstering the First Amendment, and I think that that case record bodes well in this case,” McGuire stated.

“I’m optimistic that the court will rule that way again,” she added. She said the court has set anti-religious discrimination precedents for “the last 10 years.”

If the court follows that inventory of precedents, then we will continue to possess an America that is in line with the Constitution, and our Founding Fathers would be delighted.

Recommendation: Washington School District Pays Up After Anti-Christian Discrimination

Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.

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