It was a decision forced by the minority. But we didn't want to exclude any students, no matter how few.

We were going to exclude kids from the state and public forum debate if we stayed with intelligent design. Some schools were afraid parents wouldn't allow their kids to do this one.

(He) said he had a number of fundamentalists on his doorstep. The topic just came out. We only have 15 coaches in North Dakota, and I have all their e-mail addresses. I decided to send them a little note to see what they thought.

I'm extremely pleased with the progress that our minority students are making, ... They are outstripping the gains made across the United States by a greater margin than even our student population as a whole. That bodes well for our state.

We cannot rest until all demographics are equitably represented in AP. It's clear that many minority students aren't receiving the high school education that's going to fortify them for a successful transition into college.

I believe all our students need positive role models, and especially minority students.