WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear from Catholic preschools that say Colorado violated their religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded “universal” pre-Kindergarten program over their admission policies.

The court agreed on Monday to take up the appeal from St. Mary Catholic Parish in its challenge against a state program. That challenge is supported by the Trump administration.

Joined by the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic institutions, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado, alleging their preschools cannot participate in the publicly funded program because the church’s religious views on sexual orientation and gender identify run afoul of state requirements. Two parishioners of St. Mary with a preschool-age child are also parties to the litigation.

The state said that religious schools are welcome to participate but are required to follow Colorado’s nondiscrimination laws. The program was created by a 2020 ballot measure and provides public funding for free preschool at centers selected by parents.

It’s the latest religious rights case for the conservative-majority court, which has backed other claims of religious discrimination. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s ban on “conversion therapy” for children. The court’s near-unanimous decision called the Colorado law, passed in 2019, an “egregious assault” on the First Amendment.

Approximately 40,000 children are enrolled in the state’s pre-K program in its first year. The expanded access came after Colorado voters approved funding in 2020 for a “mixed-delivery” system of private and public providers, a step toward one of Gov. Jared Polis’ key campaign promises. Included in the program are 40 faith-based preschool operators that enroll more than 900 children.

The plaintiff preschools, however, have abstained from signing up out of concern that their faith-based views on personal pronouns, bathroom usage and same-sex marriage – all related to LGBTQ status – disqualify them from the state-funded program as long as the non-discrimination requirements are in effect.

Last year, the Denver-based federal appeals court ruled that Colorado’s universal pre-kindergarten program does not violate the rights of religious preschool operators by requiring participating organizations to refrain from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics.

“The program is a model example of maintaining neutral and generally applicable nondiscrimination laws while nonetheless trying to accommodate the exercise of religious beliefs,” wrote Judge Richard E.N. Federico for the panel of Democratic-appointed judges in the Sept. 30 opinion.

In a statement Monday, Dan and Lisa Sheley, the Catholic parents who sued, said all they want is the “freedom to choose the best preschool for our kids without being punished for our faith.”

“Colorado promised families a universal preschool program, then cut out families like ours because we chose a Catholic education. We pray the Supreme Court will remind Colorado that universal means everyone,” they said.

In its brief, the state told the Supreme Court that the appellate court’s ruling is not in error.

“The Tenth Circuit correctly interpreted the state statute to allow no exceptions—and to confer no discretion to create any exceptions—to its equal-opportunity requirements,” the state said.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration filed an amicus brief supporting the challengers to the Colorado program, saying the U.S. government holds a “substantial interest in the preservation of the free exercise of religion” and in the “enforcement of rules prohibiting discrimination by government funding recipients.”

As part of the case, the court will consider narrowing a landmark 1990 decision over the spiritual use of peyote, a cactus that contains a hallucinogen called mescaline. That opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, found religious practices don’t create exemptions from broadly applicable laws.

The case will be heard in the fall.

Denver Gazette and Colorado Politics editor Luige Del Puerto contributed to this report.