Enrolling preschoolers from LGBTQ households would battle with the spiritual beliefs and obligations of Catholic preschools, attorneys for 2 Denver-area Catholic parishes mentioned Tuesday because the trial started in a lawsuit difficult the nondiscrimination guidelines in Colorado’s common preschool program.
Two Catholic parishes that run preschools — St. Mary’s in Littleton and St. Bernadette’s in Lakewood — and the Archdiocese of Denver sued the state in federal district courtroom in August. They argued {that a} nondiscrimination clause in an settlement required by the state for participation within the preschool program conflicts with their mission to supply a Catholic training. Senior U.S. District Choose John L. Kane, who’s presiding over the trial, lately issued an order dismissing the archdiocese as a plaintiff.
Attorneys for the state mentioned Catholic preschools beneath the archdiocese are being handled the identical as different preschools in this system, and that the nondiscrimination settlement in query is much like those some Catholic colleges have signed up to now for different kinds of publicly funded packages.
The lawsuit may have large implications for the brand new $322 million preschool program, which launched in August and enrolls greater than 60% of the state’s 4-year-olds this 12 months. A win for the Catholic preschools may convey extra faith-based colleges into the preschool program, but it surely may restrict the state’s capability to set nondiscrimination insurance policies for an training program that it pays for.
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