Foothills High makes 'failing' list: Progress rule brings surprise label.

Byline: Jeff Commings and Kim Matas

Sep. 1--Catalina Foothills High School is a failing school, at least according to the federal government. New rules put in place last school year have put the perpetually accomplished institution and dozens like it on the list of failing schools for the first time, the result of three new laws that have created confusion locally and nationally.

But the good news is that none of the 97 failing public traditional and charter schools in Pima County faces corrective action, as Tucson Unified School District's Lawrence Intermediate School did last year. That's because they are either not high-poverty schools or this is not their third consecutive year on the list. Tucson High Magnet School was the only school in Pima County that did not make "adequate yearly progress" for three consecutive years. District officials say it faces no sanctions because it is not a Title I school, though the district will have to pay for any student who wishes to attend another school. The Southwest Side Lawrence, 4850 W. Jeffrey Road, is…