US education secretary at Scott’s Branch School

SUMMERTON, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and S.C. Rep. James Clyburn are hearing from students concerned about the high cost of college education.

Duncan and Clyburn met Friday with about 75 students from Scott’s Branch High School.

The two men told them about a nearly $3 million grant to help students find new ways to learn. They urged students to get as much education as they can.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 decision declaring segregation unconstitutional is rooted in Scott’s Branch.

It began in 1947 with black parents in Summerton wanting a school bus for their children, who walked for miles as a white bus rode past. Briggs v. Elliott was filed in 1950 challenging segregation and became the first of five lawsuits combined before the nation’s high court.