23-05-2025
Lawsuit filed over Santa Fe charter school's Zozobra burning gone wrong
SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A school reenactment of a New Mexico tradition quickly turned dangerous, and now some parents are taking legal action. A new lawsuit claims The Academy For Technology and The Classics Charter School in Santa Fe was negligent when they had their own zozobra burning and left some students injured.
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According to the lawsuit, last August, the charter school did their own burning of Zozobra on campus without a burn permit. The suit claims a 9th-grade student was given accelerants to light up a 15-foot marionette, while other students, including the plaintiff's child, watched nearby.
The suit said the Zozobra narrator said, 'Can someone please make me burn again?' That's when the suit said that same student poured more accelerant, causing a large flash of fire. A few students were reported to have minor injuries, but the lawsuit claims the plaintiff's child had second-degree burns that will leave permanent scars and has been diagnosed with PTSD. The plaintiff's attorneys said the charter school had a duty to keep the environment safe and failed to do so. KRQE News 13 reached out to The Academy For Technology and The Classics Charter School for comment on the lawsuit, but did not hear back.
Santa Fe Public Schools is also named in the lawsuit,t but the district told KRQE News 13 they are inappropriately named, citing state law that states the district is not liable for incidents like this at charter schools.
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