Every child deserves to be welcomed, respected, and treated equally.
Today, November 3, the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy.
What Is the Case About?
The case asks whether Colorado can require religious schools that choose to participate in the state’s taxpayer-funded Universal Pre-K (UPK) program to follow the same nondiscrimination rules required of all other UPK-participating schools.
Colorado’s UPK program was designed to provide all 4-year-olds in the state access to high-quality preschool.
Public funding supports a mix of participating providers, secular and religious, giving families choices about where their children learn.
Colorado requires every preschool that chooses to participate in the voluntary program to follow the same nondiscrimination rules.
But two schools are asking the Supreme Court to exempt them from those requirements. They want to receive public funding while denying admission to children who have LGBTQ+ parents.
Why This Matters to Donor Conceived People
LGBTQ+ families are an integral part of the donor conceived community. Many donor conceived people are raised by LGBTQ+ parents, are LGBTQ+ parents themselves, or both. A decision permitting participating preschools to turn away children because they have LGBTQ+ parents would directly affect members of our community and their families.
No child should face exclusion because they have LGBTQ+ parents or because their family was formed through donor conception or surrogacy. Every child deserves the same educational opportunities, regardless of how their family came to be.
Exclusion Affects More Than Education
Exclusion sends children a painful message about whose families count in the eyes of the state. The availability of another preschool does not erase that harm or give a family the same choices available to others. These are among the concerns raised in the amicus brief filed by COLAGE, Family Equality, and Rocky Mountain Equality.
USDCC opposes using public funds to support discrimination against children and their families. Every eligible child should have an equal opportunity to enroll in participating preschools, regardless of who their parents are or how their family came to be.
Public Funding Requires Equal Enrollment Opportunities
Religious schools, including those participating in Colorado’s UPK program, retain control over their religious teaching.
Participation in UPK is voluntary. But every school, religious or secular, that chooses to take taxpayer money as part of the program must follow its nondiscrimination requirements, including providing equal enrollment opportunities to children with LGBTQ+ parents.
Bringing Our Experiences Before the Court
COLAGE, Family Equality, and Rocky Mountain Equality filed an amicus brief, also called a friend-of-the-court brief, sharing the perspectives of people with LGBTQ+ parents.
Among the contributors are Allie Paul and Jamie Spiers, donor conceived people raised by LGBTQ+ parents. Their perspectives highlight the harm of government-sanctioned exclusion and why that harm matters regardless of whether a child immediately understands the discrimination they have experienced.
These experiences help show what is at stake for the children and families at the center of this case. Every child deserves the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.