MARSHALL — A proposed statement on equity for students at Marshall Public Schools earlier this month met with some positive feedback. But school board members also had questions — especially about how much power the school district had to make change for students.

The equity statement came back before the school board on Monday, but this time with revisions focusing on “equitable access” to educational opportunities, instead of “an equitable outcome.”

School board members passed the revised statement.

Board member Matt Coleman said he had recommended the change.

“I don’t know how we would ever be able to ensure equitable outcomes,” Coleman said.

“That was actually a suggestion Matt had made at the last meeting,” said MPS Superintendent Jeremy Williams.

At the school board’s June 6 meeting, Williams had brought up the idea of adopting a statement about equity and fairness for MPS students as part of the district’s strategic planning. He shared an equity statement and a list of “commitments to equity” that the Minnesota Department of Education uses. Williams said he felt the statement encompassed some of MPS’s core values.

The statement said equity is “a principle that is based upon justice and fairness,” and is not the same thing as equality.

The original statement, as proposed to the board, said “The pursuit of educational equity recognizes the historical conditions and barriers that have prevented opportunity and success in learning for students based on their races, incomes, and other social conditions. Eliminating those structural and institutional barriers to educational opportunities requires systemic change that allows for distribution of resources, information and other support depending on the student’s situation to ensure an equitable outcome.”

Coleman proposed a wording change to the final sentence, to “equitable access” instead of “an equitable outcome.” At the June 6 meeting, Coleman said some factors were beyond the scope of what a public school can change — for example, schools couldn’t equalize families’ incomes, he said.

Board members voted to approve the revised wording Monday.