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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 equity has been a cornerstone of Superintendent Aleesia Johnson’s tenure, the under-the-radar change comes amid a backlash to equity initiatives locally and nationwide. President Donald Trump in January threatened to withhold federal education funds from schools that teach what the administration called “discriminatory equity ideology,” a directive Indiana complied with. Gov. Mike Braun also signed an executive order this year targeting initiatives and spending related to DEI.
Patricia Payne, who led the Office of Racial Equity as a longstanding IPS employee and advocate for educational equity, now leads the Office of Strategic Excellence with the support of two other employees, the district said. At least one previously worked in the Office of Racial Equity. The district has also removed references to the Office of Racial Equity from its website.
“This office continues to organize longstanding events like the Spirit of Freedom and the MLK Celebration in addition to providing support to our schools and staff in creating excellent learning environments for all students,” the district said.
The racial equity office held annual racial equity summits and staff training sessions — including a two-day intensive equity school workshop led by the Racial Equity Institute, according to presentations given to the school board. But due to a lack of funding, the district said the partnership with the institute has ended and those racial equity trainings are no longer offered.
After the murder of George Floyd prompted a nationwide racial reckoning in 2020, the office also helped present a board policy acknowledging the impact that the city’s historical racism and segregation has on students today. The policy, which is still listed as a board policy online, also commits the district to eliminating opportunity gaps between subgroups of students while disrupting “institutionally racist” structures and policies in IPS.
But Indiana Republicans have recently embraced Trump’s vigorous opposition to DEI. In addition to Braun’s executive order, Attorney General Todd Rokita launched the Eyes on Education portal in 2024 that encourages residents to report divisive ideology in schools. Districts highlighted in the portal said at the time that it contained outdated, inaccurate, or incomplete information.
IPS is listed in the portal with an accompanying screenshot of an email from the Office of Racial Equity inviting employees to join affinity groups based on shared identity such as race, religion, or gender.
The district did not respond to questions about these documents in the portal.
Equity is a guiding principle in the district’s Rebuilding Stronger plan, which seeks to stabilize IPS enrollment and finances while also providing more educational opportunities to students of color.
Racial equity was also a component of the district’s 2025 Strategic Plan, which sought to lower suspension rates for Black students with disabilities and eliminate the gap in test scores between Black and Hispanic students in IPS and those students across the state.
Regina Turner, co-chair of the education committee for the greater Indianapolis branch of the NAACP, said the district is in the best position to determine the work it does and who should do it.
But she said the NAACP’s goal of advocating for the best education for all children all of the time — including children of color — will not change no matter who is in charge.
Amelia Pak-Harvey covers Indianapolis and Lawrence Township schools for Chalkbeat Indiana. Contact Amelia at apak-harvey@chalkbeat.org.
