A mother of three in Littleton, Colorado, says the state’s universal preschool program has denied her family roughly $12,000 in aid because she sends her children to a Catholic school, a dispute that reaches the U.S. Supreme Court this week.
Erika Nagle’s children attend St. Mary Catholic School in Littleton. She told Fox News Digital that two of her kids were cut off from Colorado’s preschool funding program, forcing her family to shoulder extra education costs on its own.
“We are being excluded from this benefit because we are Catholic,” Nagle said. “And so in a state that preaches inclusion, they are actively going out of their way to exclude a huge chunk of people because of our religious beliefs.”
Colorado launched its universal preschool program in 2023, offering eligible families around $6,300 to cover 15 hours of preschool a week, according to the religious liberty legal group Becket. The program was marketed as letting parents choose freely among public, private and religious preschools, which drew interest from Catholic families statewide. Nagle says the program provides more than $6,000 per eligible child.
Catholic schools pushing back against the program argue that its participation rules unfairly penalize their religious beliefs and admissions practices, which give priority to Catholic families while remaining open to others willing to respect the school’s faith-based teachings.
Nagle says the fallout has already reached beyond her own household’s finances.
“We have had two preschools in the archdiocese that have been closed down,” she said.
She argues the program is squeezing Catholic school enrollment and pressuring families toward other options.
“The state is dangling a carrot over here, incentivizing people to leave their faith, to abandon the Catholic education that they want,” Nagle said.
Nagle pointed out that most schools set admissions priorities suited to the communities they serve — some favor neighborhood families, others prioritize LGBTQ students, children with special needs, or low-income households. She asked why her school’s preference for Catholic families should be treated any differently.
“The state grants $6000 per family to be used during the year before kindergarten … and you can use it at the school of your choice,” Nagle said. “And so Catholics are forced to pay the price for the school of our choice, which is Catholic school. And so you have thousands of Coloradans that are being forced to pay more than anyone else.”
The case puts a central question before the justices: whether religious schools can take part in publicly funded education programs without being required to abandon faith-based admissions standards.
“Colorado shouldn’t force Catholic families to give up their choice, which is a faith-based school … the state is letting other schools serve their communities, but they’re not letting Catholic families serve their communities,” Nagle said. “And to me, it also makes me wonder, is this by design, is this paving the way for godlessness or for what? Why can’t Catholic families receive this benefit when there are other schools that were granted their exemption for other admissions requirements?”
The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on Tuesday. A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood said the agency could not comment on pending litigation. The office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis did not respond to a request for comment.
