The Colorado Court of Appeals has upheld Douglas County’s pilot school voucher program, overturning a 2011 Denver District Court ruling.

The plaintiffs who set out to stop the voucher program say they’ll appeal the case to the Colorado Supreme Court.

“I think it’s safe to say the final decision will be made by the Colorado Supreme Court,” said school board President John Carson, who said the program would not start until “we’ve got clearance from the legal system. It’s not clear exactly when that will be yet.”

Two members of the three-judge appeals-court panel agreed in the Feb. 28 decision to uphold the voucher plan, with a third judge dissenting.

“We conclude that plaintiffs do not have standing to seek redress for a claimed violation of (Colorado’s school finance law), and that the (Choice Scholarship Program) does not violate any of the constitutional provisions on which plaintiffs rely,” the ruling said. “Therefore, we reverse the district court’s judgment and remand the case for entry of judgment in defendants’ favor.”

Carson said he’s cautiously optimistic.

“We’re just excited we’ve gotten a real clear statement from some esteemed judges in the state that the program is in fact constitutional,” he said. “That’s a huge stamp of approval. We feel this decision puts us in a real good state going forward.”

Plaintiff Jamie LaRue, director of Douglas County Libraries, sees it differently.

“Now the score card stands that two judges think it’s constitutional and two judges think it’s unconstitutional,” he said. “Either way, it was going to the Supreme Court.”

The 2011 pilot program, which the school district named the Choice Scholarship Program, granted a limited number of Douglas County students state school funding to use at private schools, most of them religious. Proponents say the program broadens educational options, but opponents say it blurs the line that separates church and state and pulls funding from traditional schools.

Denver District Court Judge Michael Martinez agreed with the plaintiffs in August 2011, stopping the program days after some voucher recipients started class at their chosen schools.

Becky Barnes’ autistic son was among those granted a voucher in 2011. The window of time during which the Castle Rock mother said he needed help from a teacher skilled in sensory issues has closed, and he now attends the district’s online school. She welcomed the ruling regardless.

“I’m feeling so happy for the families that will be able to use this when the program continues,” she said. “For me (and others) that weren’t able to use the program, it’s kind of a mixed emotion. But I completely believe in the program and will continue to support it.”

Carson says the program is intended for children like Barnes’ son.

“All kids learn differently,” he said. “Some are well suited to traditional neighborhood schools. Some work better in private settings. We just think if we really care about kids and their priorities, we should embrace those other types of options.”

The plaintiffs’ concern with the program, however, isn’t solely about school choice, but its legality.

“I don’t understand how a judge could conclude it was constitutional,” LaRue said. “Where (the Colorado Constitution) said public monies could not be redirected to either private or religious schools … I don’t know how else to describe what the voucher program was doing, if not that.”

Judge Steve Bernard, who disagreed with Judges Dennis Graham and Jerry N. Jones, wrote a dissent that spans 56 pages of the 119-page ruling.

The ruling is available online at http://bit.ly/WjOq3S.