The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled — correctly, in my opinion — that religious schools can’t be discriminated against if a state decides to offer public funding to private schools. The ruling will make the push for vouchers even greater, and now is the time for Colorado’s Democrats, including the most progressive school board members and teachers union leaders, to get on board.

This policy question is controversial because Americans fear, as taxpayers, parents and concerned citizens, that siphoning off money from public schools and giving it to expensive private schools will dilute the entire system, weakening the education provided to students who can’t leave. The debate tore apart Douglas County in 2011, and generally, Democrats were opposed, Republicans in favor.

Truth be told, a crippling of public schools is the negative outcome I expect from the Republican-written voucher program in Arizona.

Arizona’s voucher program — which once was only for students with disabilities, living on reservations or in failing schools — is now a thinly veiled gift to the wealthy who already send their kids to private schools. Lawmakers passed a bill that will give about $6,500 to every student in the state to help pay for private school tuition or homeschool needs — with no income requirement or even a requirement that the student is currently attending a public school.

Consider the simple math. For example, Regis Jesuit, a private high school in Centennial, has an annual tuition of $21,850 and an application fee of $400. If the state were to offer all families who applied for admission and were accepted (a test is required, as are teacher recommendations) an $8,000 per-student voucher, demand for one of the best private schools in the state would skyrocket. For an upper-middle class family, $8,000 might tip the scale to affordability for four years at Regis for a single child — $87,400 — but probably not.

And of course, all the families that already can afford Regis or other private schools, either through generous scholarships or personal wealth, would enjoy the $8,000 gift without even changing schools. But for low-income families, the $8,000 would still mean Regis is far out of reach.

Even before the new law in Arizona made the vouchers universal, The Arizona Republic had documented how the program was disproportionately assisting wealthy children. It will only get worse.

But, I am not talking about those kinds of ethically dubious voucher programs.

I am dreaming of a different kind of voucher program, the kind that could drastically change lives, offer kids an exit ramp from poverty and rectify decades of inequity where pockets of poverty have trapped kids in the worst performing schools.

Consider students at Adams City High School.

The state of Colorado has given the Commerce City school district years to improve, but data shows that the Adams 14 School District is still failing students. The Colorado State Board of Education voted 4-3 to strip the district of accreditation and begin the process of reorganizing the schools. Finally, action was taken, no thanks to three Democrats on the board.

However, the most likely path to success for these students — nearby districts stepping up to offer support and access to better schools for the students — seems to have stalled. Superintendents of 13 metro Denver school districts sent a letter to the state board opposing the reorganization.

Ugh.

I’ve watched reform efforts fail for years. President George W. Bush’s landmark No Child Left Behind policy finally shed light on the worst performing schools, including showing that low-income and minority students were being left behind in otherwise excellent schools. President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top poured billions into failing schools’ turnaround efforts. However, success stories are few and far between.

This is why I now fully support the “Get Those Students Out” philosophy for vouchers.

Children will thrive, and neighborhoods will improve if a Colorado voucher program allowed students in this state’s worst-performing schools who meet very strict income requirements (think less than $40,000 to $60,000 for a family of four) to receive lucrative vouchers that pay for the full tuition, fees, and transportation to the state’s best private schools.

Will this be expensive? Yes. But arguably no more expensive than the millions spent on “turnaround” programs — consultant fees, teacher incentives, etc. — that have had sporadic results. And my money is on these students. If we pry open the doors at the best schools in this state, these students will outperform our wildest expectations.

Narrowly tailoring eligibility for the program is only half the battle, however.

The other question is which schools will participate and how students will be admitted.

Private, public, and charter schools should be eligible to receive the roughly $22,000 or more per-student vouchers if they demonstrate at least five years of academic success among their students, set aside at least 10% of their seats for a lottery admissions program for voucher students, and agree to set up a mentoring program to help the students succeed. No new, poorly performing or online schools will be eligible. The state must be able to review retention data to prevent schools from pushing out students with disabilities, learning disorders, or otherwise discriminating. And, of course, the application process must be streamlined, simple, and accessible to all.

Why would private schools step up to help when even public school superintendents have turned their backs on these students? Perhaps they won’t, but I think it’s worth a shot.

Megan Schrader is the editor of The Denver Post opinion pages.

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