They won the legal fight.
A Christian school in Colorado, Darren Patterson Christian Academy (DPCA), has won a legal case allowing it to join the state’s Universal Preschool Program while maintaining its policy of hiring only Christians. The school was initially excluded from the program due to its refusal to comply with antidiscrimination requirements, which include policies on gender identity and sexual ethics. However, U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico ruled that denying the school’s participation violated its First Amendment rights to religious freedom.
Judge Domenico, appointed by former President Donald Trump, stated that the Colorado Department of Early Childhood did not have a “compelling interest” in denying DPCA an exemption from the antidiscrimination rule, particularly given that similar exemptions had been granted to other organizations. The court highlighted that the school’s religious beliefs are protected by the Constitution, and that the state’s desire to prevent discrimination did not outweigh these protections.
The school was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a conservative legal group, which hailed the ruling as a victory for religious freedom. Jeremiah Galus, ADF Senior Counsel, celebrated the decision, asserting that religious institutions should not be forced to compromise their beliefs in order to access public funding. The case follows a series of legal battles in which religious schools have successfully argued for exemptions to state regulations based on their religious rights.
DPCA filed the lawsuit in June 2023, joining other Christian schools in contesting Colorado’s refusal to grant religious exemptions for preschool funding. Previously, Judge Domenico had issued a preliminary injunction, indicating that the state’s nondiscrimination policy likely interfered with the school’s religious hiring practices.
The case draws parallels to a 2017 U.S. Supreme Court ruling involving a Missouri church daycare, where the court decided that excluding the daycare from a state aid program based solely on its religious nature was unconstitutional. This recent ruling is seen as another important step in protecting the rights of religious institutions to participate in public programs without compromising their core beliefs.