Indianapolis Public Schools has changed its Office of Racial Equity into the Office of Strategic Excellence amid increasing pressure on schools to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

The racial equity office, which opened in 2015, guided the district as it has tried to solve longstanding inequities in urban districts nationwide. Those include the disproportionate suspension of students of color and gaps in academic performance. Those challenges are amplified in a highly diverse district where over one-third of students are Black and over one-third are Hispanic, according to state enrollment records.

The transition was meant to ensure “that every student has what they need to be successful, regardless of their identity,” the district said in a statement Wednesday.

Although

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