The Student Interaction Plan, which was designed to encourage visits once a month between students
in majority black schools and majority white schools, was only implemented for a few years (with minimal participation), and was cut entirely from the budget in 1994.
The KCMSD — with its schools in disrepair, without what it considered adequate funding, and having endured damaging teacher strikes — took the ingenious route of suing the state, suburban school districts, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and other federal government agencies for its inability to
desegregate majority black schools.
Many black students are segregated
into majority black schools — like National Teachers Academy in the South Loop, where Porter teaches.
All of the previous attempts (even those specifically aimed at
the majority black school system in New Orleans) had been sponsored by white Republicans.
From consistency between more diverse schools and
majority black schools, to accessible mental health resources, there are a number of moving pieces that Caffey is ready to hear and speak out about.