Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

For a second time, a judge Monday denied a request by Detroit Public Schools for a temporary restraining order aimed at blocking the teacher sick-outs that have closed dozens of schools in recent weeks.

Judge Cynthia Stephens of the Michigan Court of Claims said she needs more information and that there's no proof the Detroit Federation of Teachers or its interim president encouraged the mass teacher absences.

Stephens set another hearing for Feb. 16, telling attorneys on both sides to identify witnesses and submit briefs.

DPS attorney George Butler had argued earlier that it is illegal for teachers to strike under the Michigan Public Employment Relations Act.

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"We are not interested in a witch hunt," Butler said.

Marshall Widick, the attorney representing the DFT and most of the individual teachers named in the suit, said that the teachers' actions were protected. He called the injunction request an "overreach."

"This lawsuit frankly raises the specter of First Amendment retaliation, " he said.

DPS filed a lawsuit last week against 28 defendants, including teachers, various grassroots groups, the Detroit Federation of Teachers, interim DFT president Ivy Bailey and ousted president Steve Conn. That day, 88 of the district's roughly 100 schools were closed because of sick-outs.

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Teachers have been using the sick-outs to call attention to poor building conditions, low wages, crowded classes and their concerns about pending education reform legislation.

The district says that the sick-outs have disrupted learning and harmed the city's children. Teachers say it seems to be their only avenue for getting their voices heard.

Stephens repeatedly quizzed Butler about what evidence the district has to show that Conn and Bailey were organizing or encouraging the sick-outs. Butler cited, among other things, a robocall in which Bailey is reported to have said that teachers may need to strike at some point.

"That wouldn't get you an injunction here," Stephens said.

Widick told the judge that two of the teachers named in the lawsuit were at work on the days of the sick-outs. Others had valid medical excuses, he said, such as one teacher who was on leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act because she is battling breast cancer.

Many of the more than three dozen teachers sitting in the packed courtroom in Cadillac Place wore red as a display of unity.

The judge dismissed By Any Means Necessary, Detroit Strike to Win and DPS Teachers Fight Back from the case. Butler did not ask during the hearing for injunctions against the individual teachers, other than Conn.

Outside in front of the building, more than 100 protesters carried signs and shouted.

"This didn't just happen overnight. There have been problems for a long time," said Joann Jackson of Detroit, who marched in support of the teachers along with two of her grandchildren, who both attend DPS.

DPS announced Monday that two schools — Davison and Diann Banks Williamson — were closed because of sick-outs. However, Diann Banks Williamson wasn't a sick-out; all the teachers in the school were sued by the district and summoned to court.

After the hearing, DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley said in a statement: "The court proceeding today, although unfortunate in that it did not result in any immediate relief, was a necessary step the district had to take to emphasize to those who have participated in the sick-outs the importance of our students being in class each and every day."

Conn said teachers are weighing their next steps. More sick-outs are possible, he said.

"It was a great day for the cause of freedom of speech and the fight to defend public education," he said.

On Thursday, the day after the lawsuit was filed, Stephens denied the district's initial request for a temporary restraining order, saying that DPS failed to meet the requirements of a particular court rule. She then scheduled Monday's hearing.

DPS has 46,000 students and has been run by an emergency manager since 2009. It is facing a $515-million operating debt. Earley has said that DPS could run out of money in April.

Earlier this month, Sen. Goeff Hansen, R-Hart, introduced long-awaited, controversial legislation that would revamp DPS. It would involve, among other things, adding additional financial oversight and a nine-member school board initially appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan and Gov. Rick Snyder. The board would hire a new superintendent for DPS and later be replaced by an elected school board.

Last week, Senate Republicans introduced legislation to toughen Michigan's anti-strike laws in the wake of the sick-outs.

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Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AnnZaniewski.