Fisher, et al v. Tucson Unified, et al

Filing 2158

ORDERED that the recommendations contained in the Report 2147 filed by the Special Master on November 15, 2018 are adopted in their entirety except for Step 3. Signed by Senior Judge David C Bury on 12/6/2018. (SEE ORDER FOR COMPLETE DETAILS.) (BAR)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Roy and Josie Fisher, et al.,

No. CV-74-00090-TUC-DCB

Plaintiffs

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and

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United States of America,
Plaintiff-Intervenor,

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v.

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Tucson Unified School District, et al.,
Defendants,

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and

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Sidney L. Sutton, et al.,
Defendants-Intervenors,

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Maria Mendoza, et al.,

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No. CV-74-0204-TUC-DCB

Plaintiffs,

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and

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United States of America,

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Plaintiff-Intervenor,
v.
Tucson Unified School District, et al.
Defendants.

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Special Master Report on Magnet Schools

ORDER

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On November 15, 2018, the Special Master filed his Report on Magnet Schools,

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pursuant to the Court’s directive of September 6, 2018.

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removing magnet status from any of the remaining 13 magnet schools at this time. He

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does, however, report that five of these schools may not be able to retain magnet status

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beyond the current academic year.

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Elementary, Borton Elementay, Roskruge Bilingual Middle School, and Drachman K-8.

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He also noted that Tully Elementary School and Palo Verde High School need to improve

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student performance and Tucson High School has an unacceptably high student

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achievement gap.

He does not recommend

These schools are Booth-Fickett K-8, Holladay

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The Report is premised on criterion which this Court ordered the Special Master to

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develop for the purpose of preparing it to evaluate successful magnet school programs.

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Specifically, the Court directed that he assess two factors: integration and academic

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quality. Integration is measured pursuant to its definition in the Unitary Status Plan

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(USP). The Court directed that academic quality of a magnet school be a measure of the

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achievement gap and the school’s student achievement profile. The Special Master

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identified five academic quality measurements: 1) the letter grade assigned to the school

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by the state; 2) whether the state test scores for African American and Latino students in

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a particular school exceed the average test scores for those students in the District; 3) the

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size of the achievement gap in mathematics and English language arts (ELA); 4) the

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extent to which the school has narrowed or eliminated achievement gaps, and 5)

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improvement in passing sores on state tests for African American and Latino students.

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When ambiguity exists between overall school performance and achievement gaps, he

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will apply other factors which are unspecified in the Report. The Court adopts the

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criteria developed by the Special Master and orders that the as yet unspecified “other

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factors’ be specified and provided to the District for their use in preparing the 3-Year

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Plus Improvement Plan (PIP): CMP, which will be filed with the Court at the end of SY

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2018-2019.

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The Court adopts the recommendations contained in the Special Master’s Report,

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including his proposed “Next Steps,” except for step 3 which is unnecessary in light of

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the Court’s adoption of the academic quality factors developed by the Special Master.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS ORDERED that the recommendations contained in the Report (Doc. 2147)

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filed by the Special Master on November 15, 2018, are adopted in their entirety except

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for Step 3.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the District shall provide the Plaintiffs and the

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Special Master with detailed Improvement Plans for implementing improvements in the

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five schools identified in the Report by December 4, 2018.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the District shall provide a report on or before

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January 15, 2019, to the Plaintiffs and the Special Master on the progress made in

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implementing the Improvement Plans in the five magnet schools identified in the Report.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Special Master shall issue a preliminary

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report to the Parties on February 2, 2019, approving the Improvement Plans, or

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identifying further steps the District needs to take and what evidence it needs to present

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so that the Special Master can make recommendations to the Court regarding the removal

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of magnet status for these five schools. This shall be followed up on a monthly basis

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with reports to the Parties about progress the District is making in implementing the

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Improvement Plans for the identified schools.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED during the spring term in 2019, the Special Master

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may recommend to the Court that any particular school shall lose its magnet status if he

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believes that it is apparent that the school is making little or no progress in successfully

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implementing its Improvement Plan.
Dated this 6th day of December, 2018.

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