The Supreme Court begins its October 2026 term considering landmark cases on religious freedom and state power. In St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, justices evaluate Colorado's exclusion of Catholic preschools from a $6,000 universal funding program over anti-discrimination mandates. Meanwhile, energy firms challenge local climate lawsuits under the Clean Air Act, amid broader disputes over state assisted suicide mandates.
Supreme Court docket
- ▪The Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments in 27 cases for its October 2026 term, with rulings expected by the summer of 2027.
- ▪The U.S. Supreme Court opened its October 2026 term with multiple cases testing the expansion of religious freedom and the limits of state nondiscrimination rules.
Colorado religious preschool funding dispute
- ▪Colorado excluded Catholic parish preschools from its universal preschool program paying $6,000 per eligible child after the schools refused to sign a state nondiscrimination agreement.
- ▪St. Mary Catholic Parish challenged Colorado's preschool regulations on grounds that mandatory compliance with sexual orientation and gender identity mandates violates Catholic teachings.
- ▪The Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for November 3, 2026, in St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, examining whether state governments can exclude religious schools from taxpayer funding.
Lawsuits over medical aid-in-dying mandates
- ▪Catholic bishops and Muslim doctors in Illinois filed lawsuits challenging state mandates under the medical aid-in-dying law that took effect in September 2026.
- ▪A federal judge in July 2026 shielded the Little Sisters of the Poor from being compelled to participate in New York's assisted suicide program.
Suncor Energy climate litigation
- ▪Suncor Energy and ExxonMobil argued that the Clean Air Act delegates interstate carbon emissions regulation exclusively to the federal government rather than state courts.
- ▪The Supreme Court accepted Suncor Energy v. Boulder County to decide whether federal environmental law bars local municipalities from bringing state tort lawsuits over climate change harms.
Scholarship on founding-era religious exercise
- ▪Stanford Law professor Michael McConnell's constitutional scholarship established that 18th-century state constitutions protected religious conduct beyond church walls provided public safety was preserved.
- ▪Legal scholar Donald Drakeman published archival research arguing that founding-era original intent restricted constitutional free exercise guarantees strictly to acts of public worship.
Debatable claims
- ▪Forcing religious healthcare providers to participate in medical aid-in-dying programs infringes on religious liberty
- ▪States should withhold universal preschool funds from religious schools that reject state nondiscrimination rules
- ▪Federal environmental law preempts state court lawsuits against oil companies over climate change harms
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