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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  A North Carolina school board has voted to scrap a policy of assigning students by socio-economic background in favor of a system of neighborhood schools.

The 5-to-4 vote on Tuesday night approved a resolution to begin moving away from busing to achieve diversity. It was an illustration of the Wake County Public School Board's makeup.

Board members in favor of the change were swept into office by a group of vocal parents who complained that the current student assignment plan took their children too far from home.

Dozens of parents and students lined up to speak to the board as discussion began late Tuesday afternoon.

The Wake County plan, adopted in 2000, kept school campuses integrated and quickly became a blueprint for other school systems. But school systems across the South began to shift away from diversity.

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