Forum on public charter schools held in Louisville
A bill currently in the State House of Representatives would create public charter schools in Kentucky.
The bill's primary sponsor, Louisville Rep. Phil Moffett, was part of a forum Wednesday held by the Kentucky Pastors in Action Coalition.
Organizers of the forum believe public charter schools are better alternatives for lower income white as well as African-American children, compared to Jefferson County Public Schools.
"According to the Kentucky youth advocates, 81% of the children in Metro Council District 4, where you sit right now, in the fourth grade, do not read at grade level. That's a ticket to the jail and to the prison,” Pastor Jerry Stephenson said.
In indiana, Stephenson said African-American students in public charter schools are outperforming their regular public school peers by two to one.