DENVER — A Christian preschool in Buena Vista filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Colorado over its universal preschool program, arguing the school's religious exemption denial is unconstitutional.
Filed on Tuesday, the civil rights lawsuit seeks to prevent the Colorado Department of Early Childhood from “forcing a Christian preschool to surrender its religious character, beliefs and exercise” to participate in the state’s new universal Pre-K program.
“The Constitution is clear: The government may not deny participation in a public program simply due to a school’s internal religious exercise,” Jeremiah Galus, senior counsel with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), said in a statement.
ADF is representing Darren Patterson Christian Academy in Buena Vista, which is about 120 miles southwest of Denver.
Universal Pre-K is new to Colorado.
Alliance Defending Freedom, which formed in 1994 and describes itself as the world’s largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, parental rights and “God’s design for marriage and family,” has been involved in several landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, including, most notably, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, in which justices ruled that the birth control mandated in employee-funded health plans is unconstitutional.
>Read the full article at the Denver Gazette.
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