Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_74-cv-00090/USCOURTS-azd-4_74-cv-00090-107/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 28:1331 Federal Question: Other Civil Rights

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Roy and Josie Fisher, et al.,

 Plaintiffs

and

United States of America,

 Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v.

Tucson Unified School District, et al.,

 Defendants,

and

Sidney L. Sutton, et al.,

 Defendants-Intervenors,

No. CV-74-00090-TUC-DCB

Maria Mendoza, et al., 

Plaintiffs, 

and

United States of America, 

 Plaintiff-Intervenor,

v. 

Tucson Unified School District, et al.

Defendants.

No. CV-74-0204-TUC-DCB

ORDER

NARA for Re-opening Wakefield Middle School: Approved.

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On November 19, 2019, the Defendant Tucson Unified School District (the 

District) submitted a Notice and Request for Approval (NARA) to reopen Wakefield 

school, which closed in 2013. After full briefing from the parties, the Court called for 

supplemental briefing on the NARA by the Special Master related to the Plaintiffs 

objections that the new school be opened at Wakefield and instead should be opened at 

Utterback school or at another underperforming school. A Supplemental Report and 

Recommendation (Doc. 2418) was filed on January 28, 2020. The Special Master 

recommends that the Court approve reopening Wakefield, possibly under a new name, as 

an open access, no-boundary middle school (6-8), featuring a lab-school in partnership 

with the University of Arizona and an after-school program in partnership with Higher 

Ground, with targeted student recruitment, express bus transportation, and a modified 

lottery to improve integration and access for traditionally underserved students seeking 

preparation for high school ALE programs like University High School, the IB program 

at Cholla, the AP program at Pueblo, and all AP and Honors courses at all high schools. 

He believes that this lab-school should be a new school, which will not be hampered by 

any stigma attaching at an existing school—especially Utterback which has a reputation 

as being a D school. He explains that Utterback students will be better served by the 

AVID plan currently being implemented there by TUSD, which is designed specifically 

to improve the quality of education being delivered there.

The Court adopts the Special Master’s recommendations that Wakefield be 

reopened as planned by the District. The Court also adopts the recommendations 

proposed by the Plaintiffs, including: 1) precluding student teachers, without teaching 

certificates, from being responsible for providing direct primary instruction and such 

student teachers will under the direct supervision of a Master Teacher and 2) ensuring 

that Master Teachers are not recruited from racially concentrated and underperforming 

schools at the expense of students attending those schools. 

In the context of recruiting Master Teachers for Wakefield, the District should 

select a cadre of master teachers for the new lab-school and take steps to ensure that the 

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quality of teaching for students attending schools that have lost previous magnet status or 

are underperforming schools is not diminished. To not disadvantage “Master Teacher” 

caliber teachers at these (transition or underperforming) schools, the District shall provide 

those teachers who would be eligible for Master Teacher status at the Wakefield labschool equivalent professional recognition. The District shall work with the Special 

Master to determine the factors relevant for Master Teacher status in the context of 

assessing teachers teaching at transition schools and underperforming schools.

This discussion has brought it to the Court’s attention that the Transition Plan 

reviews which this Court previously ordered the District to provide the Special Master 

and for the Special Master to review have not been done. On September 10, 2019, the 

Court set aside $1,000,000 of this year’s 910G budget and ordered review of the 

Transition Plans in the context of the Special Master filing a Report and 

Recommendation (R&R) for expenditures to these schools from the $1,000,000 set aside. 

This review and an R&R were due on September 24, 2019. (Order (Doc. 2272) at 10-12.) 

Because the Transition Plans have not yet been filed, the Court adds that the District’s 

Transition Plan status reports and the Special Master’s review and R&R shall include an 

assessment of these schools teaching staff in comparison to the Beginning Teachers 

Inventory, which has been filed, and experienced teaching staff at these schools, who 

may be eligible for Master Teacher status. The Special Master shall file the R&R, 

accordingly, which shall include budgetary recommendations for these schools from the 

$1,000,000 set aside as previously ordered.

Accordingly,

IT IS ORDERED that the NARA (Doc. 2373) is approved for the reopening of 

Wakefield school, as recommended by the Special Master and in accordance with the 

directives in this Order. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Report and Recommendation (Doc 2418 

and 2394) is adopted for TUSD to reopen Wakefield school as a lab-school, with express 

buses and a modified lottery program to maximize the schools effect on integration,

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including recruiting white students who attend the new Wakefield school to subsequently 

attend Cholla and Pueblo High Schools and to interest more Latino and African 

American students to attend UHS so that all three of highs schools will move closer to 

being integrated. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that student teachers at Wakefield, who lack 

teaching certificates, shall not be charged with providing primary instruction without 

direct supervision from Master Teachers; Master Teachers will not be recruited from 

racially concentrated or under performing schools, and the District and the Special 

Master shall conduct the requisite review and the Special Master shall file the R&R in 

accordance with the directives of this Order and the Court’s prior Order (Doc. 2272, 

within 30 days of the filing date of this Order. THERE SHALL BE NO EXTENSIONS 

OF TIME GRANTED FOR THIS FILING.

Dated this 6th day of February, 2020.

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