Christian Academy Files Lawsuit After State Says It Cannot Participate In Its Pre-K Program

A Christian preschool is suing Colorado education officials for refusing to allow them access to a universal preschool program because of their religious beliefs about gender and sexuality.

The Darren Patterson Christian Academy applied to Colorado’s new Universal Preschool Program (CUPP) for the 2023 school year and was initially approved before the July 1 deadline, but the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) is refusing to allow the school to participate unless they agree to not share their faith, according to the lawsuit. In response, the school filed a lawsuit with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Tuesday against Executive Director of the CDEC Lisa Roy and Director of CUPP Dawn Odean for allegedly attempting to violate the school’s religious beliefs under the First Amendment.

“[T]he Colorado Department of Early Childhood is requiring religious preschools like Darren Patterson Christian Academy to forgo their religious character, beliefs, and exercise to participate in UPK,” the lawsuit reads. “So even though the school welcomes all families and children, these provisions would force it to hire employees who do not share its faith and to alter internal rules and policies that are based on the school’s religious beliefs about sexuality and gender, including those that relate to restroom usage, pronouns, dress codes, and student housing during school expeditions and field trips.”