The Colorado Governor’s Office put out a statement from Gov. Jared Polis defending Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program after the U.S. Solicitor General, along with several states and organizations, filed amicus briefs asking the United States Supreme Court to intervene.
The Governor’s Office frames the program as “highly popular and successful,” says it saves families more than $6,300 per year, and points to participation by faith-based providers as proof that Universal Preschool is open to everyone. That is the sales pitch. Nice brochure. Clean font. Probably tested well with consultants.
But the whole thing gets a little less tidy when the words “for everyone” are standing next to “Supreme Court.” If your universal program needs constitutional clarification from nine justices in robes, maybe hold the confetti until the fine print gets read.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Polis says Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program is “for everyone” and welcomes religious preschools. That is the official line from the Governor’s Office, delivered with the usual government confidence of a man selling you a bridge made of slogans.
- The statement says the U.S. Solicitor General and several states and organizations filed amicus briefs asking the Supreme Court to intervene in Colorado’s UPK fight. The release does not explain the legal issue in detail, which is convenient if your goal is applause, not clarity.
- Polis says Colorado’s voter-approved program saves families more than $6,300 per year and prepares more than 40,000 kids for school. Those are the numbers the Governor’s Office wants front and center, naturally.
- The state says at least 68 faith-based providers participated in 2023-24, serving at least 1,386 students and receiving over $7 million. In 2024-25, at least 54 participated, serving at least 1,741 students and receiving more than $9 million. Through April of 2025-26, at least 79 participated, serving at least 2,052 students and receiving more than $9.5 million.
- Those numbers matter, but they do not settle the constitutional question. Government loves to say, “Look how many people we included,” while quietly ducking the question, “Who got squeezed, and under what rule?”
My Bottom Line
Parents want preschool options. Taxpayers are paying for the program. And state officials do not get to slap a rainbow sticker on bureaucracy and call it universal. If Colorado opens a public benefit, Colorado has to play by constitutional rules. That includes religious liberty. That includes equal access. That includes not turning “for everyone” into “for everyone we approve of after committee review.”
Polis may be right that many faith-based providers are participating. Fine. Good. More options for families is better than fewer. But participation by some religious schools does not automatically prove the system is fair to all of them. That is like saying nobody has a complaint about the DMV because three people made it out alive before lunch.
The Governor’s Office wants this framed as a success story. Maybe parts of it are. But “popular and successful” is press release language, not courtroom evidence. The missing pieces are the important ones: What rules are being challenged? Who says they are being burdened or excluded? What exactly is Colorado defending? And why does a program advertised as universal need the Supreme Court to sort out the guest list?
Universal means universal. Not universal unless Denver lawyers dislike your worldview. Not universal unless your preschool checks the proper ideological boxes. If families are the point, serve families. If politics is the point, just admit it and save everyone the laminated compassion routine.
Source: Colorado Governor’s Office
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