Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Roy, et al. (Amicus)

The ACLU of Colorado joined civil rights groups and religious organizations to file an Amicus Brief arguing that there is no Free Exercise Clause violation when a governmental body conditions a public benefit on a religion-neutral and generally applicable requirement.

In 2020, Colorado voters approved a proposition creating a dedicated source of funding for voluntary, universal preschool in Colorado. In 2021, the state started the process of implementing the new program by creating the Early Childhood Act. Following a stakeholder process, the legislature officially created the Universal Pre-K (UPK) Program in 2022. The UPK Program requires participants to comply with the state's anti-discrimination laws, including laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics.

This case involves a challenge to the UPK Program by Darren Patterson Christian Academy (DCPA), a private religious preschool that seeks to participate in the UPK Program but does not want to comply with generally applicable nondiscrimination rules, including rules prohibiting discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ+ status. DCPA argued to the district court that the program’s non-discrimination rules violate its First Amendment right to hire employees who share its faith and its right to enact policies driven by its faith, including its policies regarding bathroom usage, dress codes, and pronoun usage. The district court granted DCPA's request for an injunction and the State appealed.

The ACLU of Colorado has joined the ACLU’s National Freedom of Religion and Belief Program, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund to file an Amicus Brief in the Tenth Circuit supporting the State's appeal of the district court’s decision. In the brief, the coalition of civil rights and religious organizations argue that there is no Free Exercise Clause violation when, as here, a governmental body conditions a public benefit on a generally applicable and religion-neutral requirement. The DCPA is merely being asked to follow the same prohibition against gender-identity discrimination that applies to every other provider in the Preschool Program—a prohibition that is grounded in secular, not religious, concerns.