High-quality preschool programs are the only kind worth funding — the research is clear on that point.

We’re not talking about babysitting, but about preparing 4-year-olds to succeed in kindergarten and later in life. To build that kind of system in Hawaii, voters must approve a constitutional amendment in November to allow public funding to flow to private preschools.

There is nothing unique about this funding mechanism and Hawaii would not be blazing any trails — in fact, quite the opposite. More than 40 U.S. states already fund comprehensive early-education programs, and most provide instruction through both private and public schools, a "mixed-delivery system" that builds capacity by tapping into available classrooms and inspiring new programs in underserved areas.

Elsewhere, it’s relatively simple for the government to hire a private provider to deliver agreed-upon educational services, at an agreed-upon price, for an agreed- upon number of students; the contracts include standards and benchmarks and provide for regular monitoring.

That’s impossible in Hawaii now because our state Constitution explicitly prohibits public funds from being spent to benefit any sectarian or nonsectarian private educational institution, a clause that pleases the Hawaii State Teachers Association but ill serves the more than 17,000 4-year-olds in this state.

Those children especially need better options now that the state Department of Education’s "junior kindergarten" program, created to serve some members of this young population, has been dismantled — underfunded and underperforming as it was.

A Hawaii Poll conducted last February found that 62 percent of likely voters favor approval of the ballot initiative, which reads, "Shall the appropriation of public funds be permitted for the support or benefit of private early childhood education programs that shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex or ancestry, as provided by law?"

The issue is shaping up as a politically divisive one, with opposition, led by the teachers’ union, fanning fears that the proposal amounts to a voucher system that could later extend to the K-12 public school system.

This false view ignores the state’s intent to contract directly with schools to serve a large number of children, which is quite different from the individual tuition waivers already granted to a limited number of low-income families through the Department of Health’s Preschool Open Doors program. Moreover, the attorney general was clear in an advisory issued last year that the proposed constitutional amendment would limit public funding to pre-kindergarten only.

Democrats vying in the August primaries are divided on the issue: Gov. Neil Abercrombie supports the amendment, which is a linchpin of his long-term vision for universal preschool; challenger David Ige is against it, having raised questions about cost and equity.

In the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz is for it, while U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, his challenger, is opposed.

The HSTA, which wants state-funded preschools only in public schools, has endorsed Ige and Hanabusa.

Limiting preschool expansion to public schools is a path to mediocrity. The DOE’s experiment with "junior kindergarten" proves that: Some schools managed wonderful programs despite limited resources, while others were severely lacking. The state needs a uniformly excellent system.

High-quality private preschools interested in doing business with the state would augment and enrich educational opportunities for Hawaii’s youngest learners. We must include the best of both worlds in this early-ed vision, as other states do.

When the U.S. government provides Pell Grants to needy college students, those students are not required to attend public universities. The same logic applies at the other end of the spectrum. We support the expansion of excellent early education not as a jobs program for public-school teachers, nor as a steady income stream for private preschools, but as a jump-start for children to succeed in life.

Poor children, especially, benefit from this opportunity, as recent economic research such as "The Impacts of Expanding Access to High-Quality Preschool Education" explains (http://bit.ly/1tuHaNi). Optional, tuition-free programs greatly increased preschool enrollment among low-income children and fueled clear academic benefits.

Education is life’s greatest equalizer. Legitimate questions remain about the total cost of universal preschool in Hawaii, and how to ensure quality and access, especially in perennially underserved areas. There is no question, though, about how to best answer those questions: by passing the constitutional amendment and bringing the entire early-ed community to the table, from public and private schools alike.