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.

The group also represented Jack Phillips, owner of a cake shop in Lakewood, who won his own appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court on narrow grounds after he refused to bake a cake for a same-sex couple. In that case, the justices concluded the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, which determined that Phillips violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws, was palpably hostile and therefore its decision “must be set aside.”    

ADF is also currently litigating a related case out of the federal appeals court based in Denver, which held Colorado’s anti-discrimination law could compel a Christian graphic designer to create wedding websites for same-sex couples despite her religious beliefs. In that case, Lorie Smith, who owns 303 Creative LLC, a website and graphic design business, wants to create wedding websites but argues that her religious beliefs preclude her from recognizing same-sex marriage. 

Passed by Colorado lawmakers last year, the universal Pre-K program will provide up to 15 hours of free preschool for all Colorado children each week the year before they enter kindergarten.

The program is estimated to save Colorado parents, on average, $6,000 a year, according to Gov. Jared Polis’ administration.

The program’s long-awaited launch comes as Colorado struggles with an acute child care shortage, exacerbated in the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Tuesday, more than 27,000 families have had children placed in the first two rounds of placement, saving Coloradans $164.7 million, according to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.

Statewide, there are roughly 56,800 available Pre-K seats, of which 57% are filled.

Chaffee County, where Darren Patterson Christian Academy is located, has 204 Pre-K seats, of which 119 have been filled, state data show.

Darren Patterson Christian Academy applied for and received – according to the lawsuit – participation approval to the universal Pre-K program, which includes state funding. But the preschool was denied a religious exemption.

The Academy took issue with what was described in the lawsuit as a requirement that it “hire employees who do not share its faith and 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 expeditions and field trips.”

Founded in 1982, Darren Patterson Christian Academy is a kindergarten through eighth grade school in Chaffee County.

The denial, according to court documents, was based on provisions that prohibit discrimination against any person based on religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

The preschool has been matched with 17 preschool children for the upcoming school year, according to the lawsuit.

The Denver Gazette reached out to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood for comment, but has not received a response.