BREAKING: Teachers' Union, Others Sue School District

DETROIT, MI – The Detroit Public Schools teachers union, its interim president and others have filed a lawsuit against Detroit Public Schools and its state-appointed emergency manager, Darnell Earley, after a spate of teacher sick-outs to draw attention to the deteriorating school conditions that put students’ health at risk.

The plaintiffs — the Detroit Federation of Teachers, American Federation of Teachers, interim DFT president Ivy Bailey and others — claim in the lawsuit filed Thursday in Wayne County Circuit Court that the school district “has not performed its duty to its students, parents, teachers and community to provide a minimally adequate education and to properly maintain the schools,” WXYZ-TV reports.

A city of Detroit inspection found rodent problems, leaky roofs, heating issues and other problems at several of its facilities, including Carleton Elementary, where one student was reportedly struck on the head by debris falling from the ceiling while taking a test.

The plaintiffs want Earley removed as emergency manager and local control restored to the school district. They also ask that the school district “develop and institute a capital plan that provides the students of Detroit 21st century schools in which parents would want to send their children and educators would want to teach.”