(AP) -- The Black Legislative Caucus is joining with education and civil rights leaders to protest decisions by Superintendent Mick Zais to refuse to take federal grant money.
More than 50 people gathered Tuesday at the Statehouse to ask Zais to change his mind. Caucus Chairman Bill Clyburn of Aiken announced an online petition drive.
Zais spokesman Jay Ragley says it's a partisan campaign by groups that opposed Zais' election.
Ragley says Zais was clear during his campaign that he would not take federal stimulus money or grants through President Barack Obama's Race to the Top program.
Other groups with speakers at Tuesday's protest included the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the state Association of School Administrators, the League of Women Voters, and the South Carolina Education Association.
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