The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to hear a Colorado dispute on Nov. 3 over whether Catholic preschools receiving public money must enroll children of gay parents. The case is part of a broader group of appeals that could bring religion, public schools and government funding before the justices during the current term.
The Colorado case asks how far a religious preschool’s beliefs may affect its obligations when taxpayer money supports the program. The dispute centers on whether the school must accept children of same-sex couples while participating in a publicly funded preschool system.
Appeals involving public schools
The justices have also been asked to review a Texas law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments. The appeal would give the court an opportunity to revisit its 1980 decision striking down a similar requirement in Kentucky.
Other petitions involve the use of public funds at religious institutions and the application of religious-liberty protections to school policies. The cases the court may consider include:
- A challenge to a 2004 decision that allowed states to exclude students preparing to become ministers from public scholarship programs.
- A request from Amish schools for an exemption from state vaccination requirements.
- A Maryland substitute teacher’s challenge to school-district rules governing pronouns for transgender students and information shared with their parents.
- Appeals involving public funds for religious homeschool materials and state special-education services delivered at Jewish schools.
The Amish schools’ appeal asks the court to reconsider a 1990 ruling that made it more difficult to challenge laws as a burden on religious exercise. The Maryland case raises questions about the relationship between a teacher’s religious and free-speech rights and a school district’s policies concerning transgender students.
A court with a history of religious-liberty rulings
The Supreme Court rejects most requests for review. In recent years, however, the justices have ruled favorably in several cases involving religious-liberty claims, including disputes over public funding and schools. That record has contributed to additional appeals asking the court to reconsider earlier decisions involving the separation of church and state.
For now, the justices’ confirmed hearing in this group is the Colorado preschool dispute on Nov. 3. The other appeals remain requests for Supreme Court review, and the court will decide which cases to add to its docket and which to reject in the coming weeks and months.
