WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear from Catholic preschools that say it's unconstitutional to exclude them from a state-funded program because they won't admit kids from LGBTQ+ families.
In the latest religious rights case for the conservative-majority court, the justices will hear from Colorado's St. Mary Catholic Parish and the Archdiocese of Denver, which are supported by the Republican Trump administration.
The schools argue that Colorado is violating their religious rights by barring them from the taxpayer-funded universal preschool program over their faith-based admission policies. They say the state has allowed other preschools to prioritize children with disabilities or those from low-income families, so admission based on religious beliefs about gender and same-sex marriage should be allowed, too.
The state said that religious schools are welcome to participate but are required to follow nondiscrimination laws. Income and disability decisions are in line with those rules, Colorado said. The program was created by a 2020 ballot measure and provides public funding for preschool at schools selected by parents.
The plaintiffs are represented by the group Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which applauded the high court’s decision to take up the case.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that states cannot exclude families from government benefits because of their faith. We’re confident the Court will say the same thing here and put a stop to Colorado’s no-Catholics-need-apply rules,” said Nicholas Reaves, a senior counsel at Becket.
As part of the case, which will be heard in the fall, 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 conservative icon Justice Antonin Scalia, found religious practices don’t create exemptions from broadly applicable laws.
The justices declined a push from the schools, along with a Catholic family in Colorado, to overturn the ruling.
The high court recently has backed other claims of religious discrimination while taking a more skeptical view of LGBTQ+ rights.
The justices last month ruled against another law in Colorado that banned “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids after the measure was challenged by a Christian counselor.
Last year, the justices found that parents who have religious objections can pull their children from Maryland public school lessons that use LGBTQ+ storybooks. In 2022, the court found a high school football coach who knelt and prayed on the field after games was protected by the Constitution.
The court deadlocked, though, over a plan to establish a publicly funded Catholic charter school after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen Friday, April 17, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he appointed Jeffrey Epstein ’s friend Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington, but said he would not have done so if he had known Mandelson had failed security checks.
Starmer faced a barrage of opposition calls to resign as he tried to explain why Mandelson was given the job despite failing security vetting for the U.K.'s most important diplomatic post. Starmer brushed aside the demands, placing blame squarely on Foreign Office officials who he says failed to tell him about the security concerns.
He said the facts about Mandelson's vetting "could and should have been shared with me before he took up his post.”
Starmer told lawmakers in the House of Commons that “I would not have gone ahead with the appointment” had he known. Mandelson was fired in September, nine months into the job, when new details emerged about his friendship with Epstein.
Starmer's explanation was greeted with jeers from opposition lawmakers, incredulous that the nation's leader hadn't known such a crucial piece of information.
“I know many members across the House will find these facts to be incredible," Starmer said. "To that, I can only say they are right. It beggars belief.”
Opposition Conservative Party lawmaker Kemi Badenoch said Starmer's lack of curiosity was hard to believe.
“It doesn’t appear that he asked any questions at all. Why? Because he didn’t want to know," she said.
Starmer was attempting to set the record straight after repeatedly telling lawmakers that “due process” was followed when Mandelson was appointed. He now says he’s “furious” that he wasn’t informed that an intensive vetting process had recommended Mandelson not be given security clearance. The Foreign Office, which oversees diplomatic appointments, cleared him anyway.
Starmer fired the top Foreign Office civil servant, Olly Robbins, within hours of the revelation by The Guardian last week. But allies of Robbins say he would never have been able to share sensitive vetting information with the prime minister.
Robbins is expected to give his own version of events to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Badenoch said that instead of taking responsibility for his mistakes, Starmer "has thrown his staff and his officials under the bus.”
Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, said Starmer "gives every impression of a prime minister in office but not in power.
“The prime minister knew that appointing Mandelson was an enormous risk. He decided that it was a risk worth taking — a catastrophic error of judgment. And now that it’s blown up in his face, the only decent thing to do is to take responsibility."
Senior government colleagues have defended the prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said that if Starmer had known about the failed security vetting, “he would never, ever have appointed him ambassador.”
But lawmakers in Starmer’s center-left Labour Party, already anxious about the party’s dire poll ratings, are restive. Starmer has already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to resign over the Mandelson appointment.
He could face a new challenge if, as expected, Labour takes a hammering in local and regional elections on May 7, which give voters a chance to pass a midterm verdict on the government.
Critics say the Mandelson appointment is more evidence of a failure of judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024. Starmer has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living, and has been forced into repeated policy U-turns.
He picked Mandelson for one of Britain’s most important diplomatic jobs despite being warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, exposed the government to “reputational risk.”
Mandelson’s business links to Russia and China also set off alarm bells. But his expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with President Donald Trump’s administration.
He lasted less than nine months in the job. Starmer fired Mandelson in September 2025, after evidence emerged that he had lied about the extent of his links to Epstein.
A trove of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January included emails suggesting Mandelson had passed on sensitive, and potentially market-moving, government information to Epstein in 2009, after the global financial crisis.
British police launched a criminal probe and arrested Mandelson in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He does not face allegations of sexual misconduct.
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Peter Mandelson is seen with his dog outside his home in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks as Starmer hosts social media industry leaders to discuss child safety online Thursday, April 16, 2026, in London. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer co-hosts a multinational virtual summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, not pictured, at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, Friday April 17, 2026 (Tom Nicholson/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the United States, leaves his house in London, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
