LOUISVILLE — Kentucky Republicans are pushing for charter schools, saying the option would give the state’s children a more competitive edge.

Last year, the Republican-controlled state Senate approved a charter school bill, only to see the bill fail to receive a hearing in the Democrat-controlled House. Sen. Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, admits the issue is frustrating. 

“Why wouldn’t you want that tool in your tool box? Give us another option,” Wilson said Thursday during the Kentucky Charter Schools Association Education Summit at the Muhammad Ali Center.

Charter schools have fewer rules and more freedom, and it’s important to get the students’ parents involved, said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, during the summit. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that operate independently and are held accountable for promises made in their charters. Kentucky is one of only eight states that do not have charter schools. In Kentucky, teacher’s unions and superintendents have opposed these types of schools.

Paul on Thursday asked proponents of charter schools to talk about the advantages those schools offer families.

“It’s your money,” said Paul. “You should be able to take it where you want to.”

Both U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, and Paul endorsed the legislation for Kentucky on Thursday, with McConnell calling the lack of charter school legislation in Kentucky “a genuine crisis” at the summit. Paul travels across America and holds seminars about charter schools.

The Kentucky Charter Schools Association formed recently and is leading the push for state lawmakers to pass legislation allowing charter schools here. Last year, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools in Washington, D.C., led the lobbying efforts in Frankfort. Joe Burgan is the group’s new executive director. 

“It’s about the kids,” said former Louisville Metro Councilman Hal Heiner, who is the new chairman of the Kentucky Charter Schools Association. 

Another national group, the Democrats for Educational Reform, has also signed on in Kentucky’s fight, according to comments at the forum.

“This is not a Democrat issue. This is not a Republican issue. This is a citizen’s issue,” Wilson said.

State Rep. Brad Montell, R-Shelbyville, introduced the charter schools bill in the House last session.

“I’m appreciative of the hard work of Senator Mike Wilson, the chair of the Education Committee, for getting this bill through the state Senate. And Representative Brad Montell has brought a charter school bill before the state House four years in a row and will keep fighting this year. I hope more state lawmakers will aid their efforts,” McConnell said in a release after the summit.

“We’re raising political awareness,” said Starlee Rhoades, spokesman for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “We’re bringing groups together.” 

“There is no more important issue than this,” McConnell said, adding, “Are our young people ready to compete?”

McConnell said it is a “sad commentary” that the school system in his home county, Jefferson County, was described earlier this year by Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday as committing “academic genocide,” a reference to the district’s low-achieving schools.

“All children have the right to go to a public school that will challenge them and prepare them for the future,” said Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “For many children, their neighborhood public school works great. But for others, it doesn’t. Those students need options so they have the same opportunity to flourish as their peers.”

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools’ polls indicate 72 percent of Kentuckians want charter schools, Rees said.

According to The Nation’s Report Card, only one in three Kentucky fourth- and eighth-graders read at or above grade level. In Jefferson County, where Louisville is located, it’s even worse. The district is home to 18 of the state’s 41 schools identified as “failing” under federal standards. And a staggering one out of every four Louisville teens drops out of high school, according to a release from the KCSA said. 

— Chuck Mason covers education. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/bgdnschools or visit bgdailynews.com