Preschools provide places where young children can begin their education and learn basic skills that will help them as they grow up. Government officials in Colorado recognized this, so when the state legislature passed a law establishing a universal preschool program in the state, it did so with the stated goal of providing more opportunities for Colorado children.
Unfortunately, the actions of some state officials have proven that politics, not children’s education, are most important to them. The state mandated that one Christian school change its policies—policies grounded in its religious character—and hire non-Christian employees in order to participate in the program. Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the school to preserve its religious freedom.
Darren Patterson Christian Academy
Darren Patterson Christian Academy is a private Christian school in Buena Vista, Colorado. The school is named after a 14-year-old boy who was tragically killed by a drunk driver, and it was founded in 1982 to give children in the area an opportunity Darren Patterson never had—to receive a Christian education.
Darren Patterson Christian Academy has a preschool called “Busy Bees,” an elementary school, and a middle school. The school strives “to teach the truth about God” and “to present the Word of God as the authoritative source upon which to build a life that has purpose and meaning.” But the state of Colorado tried to punish the school for its Christian beliefs.
Colorado’s universal preschool program
In 2022, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a law creating a universal preschool program (UPK) that gives children in Colorado access to “preschool services free of charge in the school year before a child enrolls in kindergarten.”
Eligible children can receive 15 hours per week of preschool services funded by the government, and some children can qualify for more based on factors such as family income.
Darren Patterson Christian Academy applied to participate in the program soon after it was established. The school initially received approval, and students began being matched with Busy Bees Preschool through the program. But the school later learned that certain program conditions would force the school to violate its Christian beliefs.
An impossible choice
Colorado’s preschool program prohibited Darren Patterson from hiring only employees who share its religious beliefs and from aligning its internal policies on bathroom usage, dress codes, pronouns, and student lodging during field trips with its religious beliefs about sexuality and gender.
The school asked for a religious exemption, but Colorado refused. This left Darren Patterson Christian Academy with an impossible choice: give up its religious beliefs or be excluded from the universal preschool program because of those beliefs.
In June 2023, Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit on behalf of the school to protect its religious freedom.
Fully protected in court
The First Amendment protects the rights of religious schools to hire employees who share their beliefs and to operate according to their faith. The government cannot force schools to give up their beliefs to participate in a government program just like everyone else.
Thankfully, a 2025 ruling from a federal district court in the case affirmed just that. The court wrote that Colorado “offered no convincing explanation” for its unequal treatment of Darren Patterson and ruled that the state cannot exclude or otherwise penalize the school for adhering to its religious beliefs.
The district court’s ruling brought an end to the case, meaning that Darren Patterson will finally be able to participate in the universal preschool program as it continues to serve families in Buena Vista.
Darren Patterson Christian Academy v. Roy
- April 2022: Colorado passed a law establishing its universal preschool program, which went into effect in 2023. To participate in the program, religious schools like Darren Patterson Christian Academy must agree to rules that would force them to violate their beliefs.
- May 2023: Darren Patterson Christian Academy asked Colorado for a religious exemption that would allow it to participate in the program without violating its beliefs, but it was denied.
- June 2023: ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit on the school’s behalf.
- October 2023: A federal district court ruled to allow the school to participate in the program consistent with its religious beliefs while the lawsuit proceeded.
- February 2025: The district court granted ADF’s motion for summary judgment, fully protecting Darren Patterson’s ability to participate in the program and bringing an end to the case.
