DENVER | The Colorado Court of Appeals has revived a lawsuit challenging an important part of Colorado’s overhauled teacher tenure law.

The lawsuit, filed by the state’s largest teachers union on behalf of some Denver teachers, was dismissed last year by a judge in Denver. On Thursday the appeals court said the lower court needs to consider the claims made by the Colorado Education Association.

At issue is a 2010 law that allows tenured teachers who haven’t been offered a job to be put on unpaid leave. The union says it unfairly allows school districts to place experienced teachers on leave even if they have good evaluations, avoiding the hearings required before tenured teachers are fired.

The law also links teacher tenure to student performance but the suit doesn’t challenge that.