Dive Brief:

• A Michigan judge has denied a request from Detroit Public Schools (DPS) that would have banned teachers from practicing "sick-outs," a protest tactic in which educators call in sick for work en masse to call attention to grievances — in this case, working conditions and Gov. Rick Snyder's ed reform plan. 
• The Detroit Federation of Teachers claims there is mold and rats "running rampant through the halls" in many schools, CNN reports.
• One Michigan politician said that approximately 700,000 instructional hours have already been lost this year due to the ongoing protests.

Dive Insight:

Earlier this month, over 60 Detroit schools were forced to close because of the sick-outs, and the complicated hovering around them has continued ever since. Potential cuts to teacher pay and benefits, large class sizes, and fury over reform proposals are said to be driving the protests. They come at a difficult time for DPS schools, which Superintendent Brian Whiston says will be bankrupt by this coming April if action isn't taken. Two state bills, Senate Bills 710 and 711, have been introduced, but they're based on the controversial ed plan offered by Snyder — and it's not clear how feasible passing them might be.