NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Tennessee Court of Appeals has determined that Nashville's former director of schools legally suspended an agreement with a union in 2011.

The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/1S8LCCK) reports that an opinion filed Dec. 21 by Court of Appeals Judge Richard Dinkins overturned a lower court decision that said former Director of Schools Jesse Register didn't have the authority to suspend a labor negotiations policy with the Service Employees International Union. The union represented non-licensed employees at the time.

A lawsuit filed against the district claimed Register and his staff went beyond their legal authority in suspending the policy.

The opinion found that law changes in 2011 made the suspension of the policy possible.

Union attorney Michael Wall says the union plans to file an appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court.