1LoverofGod
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A private Christian preschool has issued a complaint of religious discrimination against Colorado state officials.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys are representing Darren Patterson Christian Academy, which runs a preschool called “Busy Bees” in Buena Vista, Colorado. The academy was denied state funding of the new universal preschool program (“UPK”) unless it forgoes its religious character, beliefs and exercise.
Effective July 1, the UPK program gives every 4-year-old in Colorado a minimum of 15 hours per week of free preschool services for the next year. All licensed preschools in Colorado have been encouraged to join the program, but they must comply with its rules or be excluded from the funding.
Although Darren Patterson Christian Academy applied and was accepted into the UPK program, it later learned of the program’s nondiscrimination provisions involving employment decisions and gender orientation. In May, the school requested a religious exemption alongside other faith-based groups—and was denied.
“The Constitution is clear: The government may not deny participation in a public program simply due to a school’s internal religious exercise,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus.
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Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorneys are representing Darren Patterson Christian Academy, which runs a preschool called “Busy Bees” in Buena Vista, Colorado. The academy was denied state funding of the new universal preschool program (“UPK”) unless it forgoes its religious character, beliefs and exercise.
Effective July 1, the UPK program gives every 4-year-old in Colorado a minimum of 15 hours per week of free preschool services for the next year. All licensed preschools in Colorado have been encouraged to join the program, but they must comply with its rules or be excluded from the funding.
Although Darren Patterson Christian Academy applied and was accepted into the UPK program, it later learned of the program’s nondiscrimination provisions involving employment decisions and gender orientation. In May, the school requested a religious exemption alongside other faith-based groups—and was denied.
“The Constitution is clear: The government may not deny participation in a public program simply due to a school’s internal religious exercise,” said ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus.
Read more
