WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear arguments in a case asserting that Colorado must exempt Catholic entities from a nondiscrimination provision in its state-funded preschool program. The case was brought by the Archdiocese of Denver, which runs 34 preschools.

Colorado voters approved the statewide preschool program through a referendum in 2020. The program provides taxpayer funds for parents to send their children to their preferred preschool. Schools participating in the program can prioritize children with disabilities and those from low-income families in admissions decisions.

The Archdiocese of Denver says it is excluded from the program because of a rule prohibiting preschools from refusing admission to any child on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The archdiocese says the rule conflicts with its First Amendment religious rights because Catholic doctrine does not recognize same-sex relationships or transgender status.

Two Catholic parishes in Littleton and Lakewood are involved in the case, along with parishioners Daniel and Lisa Sheley, who have five children, two of whom are currently in preschool. The archdiocese sued Colorado in 2023 and lost in federal district court and at the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The archdiocese's argument centers on Employment Division v. Smith, a 1990 Supreme Court ruling stating that religious exemptions are not required when a law applies equally to everyone. Its lawyers contend that the Colorado law and related regulations include loopholes that give preschools leeway when weighing applications, so the law does not apply equally under Supreme Court precedent.

The state argues that the nondiscrimination provision has no exemptions and therefore Catholic preschools are not owed an exemption under Supreme Court precedent. The Trump administration filed a brief in support of the archdiocese urging the Supreme Court to take up the case.

The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority and often backs religious rights claims. In recent years, the court has issued a series of rulings rolling back limits on religious entities participating in government programs, including those related to education.