D.C. Riley became education secretary in the Clinton administration in 1992. He was state representative and state senator from 1963 to 1977 and served as governor from 1978 to 1986. During his time as education secretary, Riley has helped launch initiatives to raise academic standards, to improve instruction for the poor and disadvantaged, to expand grants and loan programs to help more Americans go to college, to prepare young people for the world of work, and to improve teaching. He also helped to create the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, which includes more than 4,000 groups. Riley also is credited with helping win a historic ruling by the Federal Communications Commission to give schools and libraries deep discounts for Internet access and telecommunications services and helped win major improvements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Students pour in here from all over the world to take advantage of it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.