Minneapolis schools launch new diversity policy

The Minneapolis school district has put in place a new equity and diversity policy that officials hope will help close the achievement gap between white students and students of color.

The new policy calls for recruiting and hiring a more diverse staff. It also proposes training teachers on how to better serve a racially diverse student body. And it seeks to better involve parents and the community in finding alternatives to policies may have hurt students of color.

The St. Paul school district this summer passed similar policy.

Both districts are currently rethinking their out-of-school suspension policies. Historically students of color have faced higher suspension rates than white students.