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The city and teachers union have two weeks to prepare arguments in their battle over school closures and charter school co-locations, according to an agreement hammered out today between both sides and the state judge who will preside over the case, a union official said.

That means that school officials will have to wait to learn whether the judge, Paul Feinman of the state supreme court, will grant the teachers union the temporary restraining order it requested. The order would immediately halt school closure and co-location plans even before the court decides whether they are ultimately illegal, as the UFT and NAACP charged in a lawsuit last month.

Lawyers for the education department did not immediately respond to confirm the details, but UFT spokesman Dick Riley said both sides are due back in court on June 21, when Feinman is expected to hear their arguments.

In the meantime, the sides agreed on basic terms similar to what the plaintiffs seek out of the restraining order. First, the Department of Education is required “to maintain student records” and “school choices for all students involved in schools in the litigation,” Riley said.

Second, any current construction underway as part of co-location plans must cease immediately.

It’s not clear if any such projects have begun, since the last day of school isn’t until June 28. Requests to confirm the agreement details with the Department of Education were not answered tonight. (more…)