Jefferson County Public Schools on Monday gave the state "a preliminary list" of the names of teachers who may have taken part in recent "sickout" protests.

Those protests, during which teachers orchestrated calling in sick for the same day, caused the 98,000-student district to shut down six times in recent weeks.

JCPS submitted the names to satisfy a request from Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis, according to district spokeswoman Renee Murphy.

Murphy called the names "a preliminary list," and did not elaborate. She would not divulge the number of names the district provided.

In a letter to Lewis, Superintendent Marty Pollio said the district is giving Lewis the names because he has the legal authority to ask for them. But, Pollio said the names should not be released to the media or the public because the records are considered preliminary and, thus, exempt from the state's Open Records Act.

A spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Background:Kentucky education chief wants names of 'sickout' teachers

The handover comes as the district braces for another potential sickout, with the state legislature reconvening on Thursday for the final day of its 2019 session.

Lewis had asked JCPS and nine other districts to submit the names of all teachers who called in sick on dates the sickouts took place, beginning with the first on Feb. 28.

State law grants Lewis the authority to report teacher misconduct to the Kentucky Board of Education. If Lewis feels he has enough evidence to prove teachers misused sick leave, he could recommend that their licenses be suspended or revoked.

On the days when districts closed, hundreds of teachers rallied at the state Capitol to protest legislation they deemed as negative for public education.

Lewis has said he requested the sick leave records to ensure "districts have policies in place to protect school days and students' instructional time."

Lewis also asked for districts' sick leave policies, as well as any documentation submitted by teachers to prove they were actually sick.

Previously:JCPS requests extension to give names of teachers who took part in 'sickouts'

Several districts, including JCPS, had told Lewis that they couldn't deliver such documentation because once school was called off, teachers' sick leave requests became moot.

Elected boards for JCPS, Bullitt County Public Schools and Marion County Schools pushed back, last week adopting resolutions urging Lewis to call off his requests.

Lewis refused.

But he promised not to punish individual educators if schools stop shutting down.

After the initial protests, JCPS had attempted to avoid further sickouts by striking a deal with its teachers union to send a delegation of 500 educators to the Capitol for the remaining days of the legislative session.

But that deal didn't satisfy a large enough contingent of teachers, as hundreds continued calling out sick.

Read more:Why Lewis may not have enough proof to catch teachers who lied in sickouts

Mandy McLaren: 502-582-4525; mmclaren@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @mandy_mclaren. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/mandym.