WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (“Orthodox Union”)—the nation’s largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization—filed a friend-of-the-court brief in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, a case addressing whether states may force religious schools to violate their religious beliefs and practices in order to participate in government funding programs. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the fall. The brief can be read here.

The case follows a series of Supreme Court decisions holding that states may not exclude religious institutions from generally available government funding programs simply because they are religious or because they will use the funds for religious purposes.

In order to participate in Colorado’s Universal Preschool (“UPK”) program, schools must comply with an admissions nondiscrimination policy that may be incompatible with their religious mission. After Colorado declined to exempt Catholic preschools from that requirement, the schools challenged the program under the First Amendment.

St. Mary Catholic Parish argues that Colorado’s admissions requirement burdens its religious exercise by forcing them to choose between participating in the UPK program and adhering to their faith. They also contend that Colorado permits participating schools to give preference to certain groups of students while refusing to permit religious schools to give preference to families who share their faith.

The Orthodox Union’s brief argues that the case implicates the First Amendment right of religious communities to determine who belongs to their religious community. For synagogues, that includes deciding who may become a member of the congregation based on religious affiliation. For religious schools, it includes the right to limit admission to students who share the school’s faith and religious mission. The brief argues that Colorado cannot require religious schools to give up that constitutional protection as the price of participating in a government program available to everyone else. It further warns that if governments may attach similar conditions to other public benefit programs, religious schools, synagogues, and other faith-based institutions could face the same choice in programs they rely on every day—including security grants that help protect Jewish schools and synagogues from antisemitic violence.

Nathan Diament, Executive Director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, stated:

“Colorado’s attempt to force a Catholic school to violate its religious tenets in order to participate in the state’s UPK program is clear religious discrimination. It runs counter to recent pro-religious liberty rulings by this Court (including Trinity Lutheran, Espinoza v. Montana, and Carson v. Makin) in which OU Advocacy filed briefs. Freedom of religion will be in peril if a state can impose conditions on who gets to enjoy it.”

Sydney Altfield, CEO of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, stated:

“At Teach Coalition, we fight every day to ensure that nonpublic schools have equal access to government funding programs available to everyone else. But religious schools should not have to surrender their constitutional rights in order to participate in those programs. The Constitution protects the right of religious communities to define themselves, including deciding who belongs to their religious community. Government cannot condition access to public benefits on a religious school’s willingness to give up that freedom. That’s not equal treatment, and it’s not what the First Amendment permits.”

About OU Advocacy and Teach Coalition

Through its OU Advocacy Center, the Orthodox Union regularly participates in Supreme Court cases involving religious liberty and other issues of importance to the Orthodox Jewish community. Through Teach Coalition, the Orthodox Union represents hundreds of Jewish day schools and advocates on issues affecting their relationship with state governments and access to educational programs.

The Orthodox Union’s amicus curiae brief was prepared in partnership with attorneys at Sidley Austin (Gordon Todd, Daniel Feith, and Jeremy Rozansky) and Michael (Avi) Helfand, professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and Senior Legal Advisor to the Teach Coalition. The brief can be read here: