Dane Co. judge orders school district to release sick notes - WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

MADISON (WKOW) -- A Dane County judge has ordered the Madison School District to release more than 1,000 sick notes submitted by teachers during the protests at the state Capitol over collective bargaining.

Judge Juan Colas said the district's denial to the Wisconsin State Journal is a violation of Wisconsin's open records law. The district argued the notes contain medically sensitive information that could embarrass teachers. The editor of the State Journal says the newspaper isn't planning to publish individual teacher names, but rather report on the general nature of the notes the district received from the teachers.

Madison schools were closed for four days in February when some teachers attended protests of Gov. Scott Walker's cuts to collective bargaining rights for most public workers.