Colorado’s universal preschool program, known as UPK Colorado, offers families across the state publicly funded preschool. Schools that take the money agree to one condition: they must accept every child, no matter what faith the family practices or whether the child or parents are LGBTQ+. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could strike that condition down.

Two Catholic parish preschools in Littleton and Lakewood, backed by the Archdiocese of Denver, asked for religious exemptions so they could join the program without following the nondiscrimination rule. When Colorado said no, they sued, arguing the rule violates their religious freedom. A federal district judge upheld the state’s rule in June 2024, and the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in October 2025.

The rule doesn’t shut faith-based schools out. More than 79 of them already take part in UPK and have accepted the nondiscrimination terms, according to Jax Gonzalez, political director at the LGBTQ+ advocacy group One Colorado.

“Colorado’s rule is simple: If you take public money to teach kids, you serve every kid,” Gonzalez said. Gonzalez also warned that a ruling against Colorado could open the door to taxpayer-funded discrimination in other services, like health care, shelters and food pantries.

Preschool is where kids make their first friends and start to love learning. No child should be turned away from a publicly funded classroom because of who their parents are. Colorado voters approved universal preschool to give all children a strong start, and the Supreme Court should let that promise stand by upholding the lower court rulings.

Sign the petition to tell the U.S. Supreme Court that any preschool taking public money must welcome every child, before the justices decide this case.