Sutherland brief calls on 10th Circuit to protect families and schools from religious discrimination

SALT LAKE CITY (November 18, 2025) – Today, Sutherland Institute released a statement from Constitutional Law and Religious Freedom Fellow William C. Duncan, regarding Sutherland’s amicus curiae brief submission to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Lisa Roy, et al., a case regarding Colorado’s state-funded preschool services requiring religious schools to adopt gender identity policies at odds with the school’s faith and moral background:

“The Colorado Department of Early Childhood puts an undue burden on the constitutional rights of religious schools in Colorado, forcing them to abide by a moral code that they do not hold. The department’s policy will implicate the free exercise of religion by these schools and their students.

“As the average annual tuition at Colorado private elementary schools surpasses $12,000, the state’s decision to pick winners and losers in its programs is a disservice to the state’s children. The government’s preference for secular private schools creates a competitive imbalance in the private school sector. If Colorado solely subsidizes private schools that are secular or whose philosophies about sexuality coincide with the state’s, only parents who can choose private schooling without financial assistance will be able to enroll their children in schools that have religious missions and practices that align with their faith.”