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Ky. Attorney General Sues to Block Subpoenas for Teachers’ Records

By The Associated Press — May 07, 2019 1 min read
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Kentucky’s attorney general followed through on his warning and filed suit last week to block subpoenas issued by Gov. Matt Bevin’s administration as part of an investigation into teacher sickouts that shut down schools.

The state Labor Cabinet sent the subpoenas seeking teacher records to a number of school districts.

Bevin’s chief of staff, Blake Brickman, tweeted that the lawsuit shows that Attorney General Andy Beshear is “more concerned about politics than the law.”

Beshear said the subpoenas are unlawful because the sickouts were not related to teachers’ employment conditions. Teachers used sick days to close schools to rally against several education bills being considered by state lawmakers this year.

The teachers’ rallies amounted to constitutionally protected free speech, Beshear said.

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A version of this article appeared in the May 08, 2019 edition of Education Week as Ky. Attorney General Sues to Block Subpoenas for Teachers’ Records

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