TEACHERS PROTEST HB 525 2-28-19 5.jpg
Teachers fill seats in the audience for the Feb. 28, 2019, House State Government Committee meeting in Frankfort. The panel took up House Bill 525, which drew a call for action by the group KY 120 United.
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An amended version of House Bill 525, passed on a 12-5 vote with a single “pass” vote. The legislation prompted hundreds of teachers to call out sick so they could protest the measure.
The six demonstrations in February and March, led primarily by JCPS teachers, have drawn rebukes from some in Frankfort, including Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis. He’s asked 10 school districts to produce the names of those who requested sick leave on days when schools were closed because of teacher shortages.
The Kentucky Association of Professional Educators supported a bill last year that prompted "sickouts" by about a dozen school districts and that would have given it control of one seat on the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System board.
