FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, now-Education Secretary John King Jr. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The importance and benefits of diversity is a theme Secretary John King Jr. has been discussing around the United States since he took office earlier this year. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2016 file photo, now-Education Secretary John King Jr. is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington. The importance and benefits of diversity is a theme Secretary John King Jr. has been discussing around the United States since he took office earlier this year. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) U.S. Education Secretary John King Jr. is touting a network of magnet schools as one model for achieving the kind of diversity he has been pushing for as American schools have been growing more racially segregated.

King spoke Wednesday at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy, one of the Connecticut schools that enroll city and suburban students under a court-ordered desegregation agreement. He said it is an example of a community standing up for diversity that produces better outcomes for all students.

King has stressed the importance of diversity and equality since taking office earlier this year.

A bill pending in Congress would provide $120 million to support local efforts including creating public school choice zones, expanding bussing service and developing programs to attract students from outside local areas.