The fact in September chose to collectively call in sick in protest of school board actions is bad enough.
But now the teachers union has been in district court that bars Jefferson County Public Schools from releasing the names of those absent teachers.
The Jefferson County Education Association says in a court motion that teacher absence files are personnel records and that “medical information” must be kept confidential.
But the same argument didn’t hold for teachers at Conifer High, who did the same sick-out but whose names were released by the district after a lawyer with the complained.
The lawyer argued the Colorado Open Records Act limits “personal and private information unrelated to an employee’s function.” But that doesn’t include whether the employee showed up to work.
Public employees who wish to protest by pretending to be sick should not be able to hide behind a shield of anonymity. And we still hope the courts will see it that way.
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