MARSHALL — Marshall Public Schools is updating its strategic plans, and one part of the process school board members were asked to consider was whether to adopt a statement on equity and fairness for students.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Jeremy Williams shared an equity statement used by the Minnesota Department of Education.

“I feel like this really encompasses our core values,” Williams said. After discussion Monday, Williams said he planned to bring the statement back before the board at a future meeting.

“Thinking about kind of where we’re at as a district, and thinking about our new strategic plan, one of the pieces we’ve talked about is adopting an equity statement as a board,” Williams said. He said the MPS cabinet board members felt the statement “fits a lot of what we’ve talked about at the board table.”

Williams read a copy of the Department of Education’s statement. The statement was also included in school board meeting packet materials.

“Educational equity is the condition of justice, fairness, and inclusion in our system so that all students have access to the opportunities to learn and develop to their fullest potentials,” the statement read. “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.”

The statement went on to say that equity was different from equality. “Equity is a principle that is based upon justice and fairness, while equality demands everyone be treated at the same level,” the statement said.

Williams also shared a list of “Ten Minnesota Commitments To Equity,” which the Department of Education has used at meetings. The list of commitments included measures like allocating resources to learners who need them most, working with community partners, and making sure standards were fairly implemented for all students.

School board members had questions about the proposed equity statement. Board member Matt Coleman was uncertain about the purpose of the statement.

“What kind of systemic changes can we make?” Coleman said. Public schools aren’t meant to do things like equalize incomes for families, he said.

“What I see as a start for us, is as we’re going through thinking about our goals and our planning and our budgeting, that we’re looking at it using this framework and thinking, ‘Are we making sure we’re accounting for all our students?'” Williams said.

For example, Williams said, schools can think about making sure students are required to bring supplies they may not have access to.

“I don’t know that that’s any different than the practice of what this district has done for years,” school board member Aaron Ziemer said. Adopting the equity statement would just be formalizing what MPS does already, he said.

Board member Bill Mulso had some positive feedback on the statement.

“I like that we define what equity is. I think it’s key for people to understand that equity is not equality,” Mulso said. He said he also liked the “Ten Commitments” list, because it laid out how the district could pursue equity.