The appeal of the arbitrator's Oct. 27 decision in the case of Charles E. Coughlin Jr. was filed in state Superior Court Nov. 12, and it has been published online. The appeal seeks to vacate the decision that would reinstate Coughlin, fired in August 2007, to his job with back pay. The appeal is here >>

To get the document, YourArlington filed a public-information request with Stoneman, Chandler & Miller, and it was provided.

The appeal says, in part:

"The Award must be vacated under the grounds listed in MGL c.150C, & 11. MGL c. 71, & 42 allows schools to dismiss teachers for misconduct and requires arbitrators to determine whether that misconduct occurred.

"In relying on a facially inapplicable policy and creating an exclusionary rule requiring the APS [Arlington Public Schools] to disregard teacher misconduct contained in emails, which are public records, found on its own computer system, the arbitrator avoided any assessment of Coughlin's behavior, thereby neglecting his statutory duty and violating & 42.

"Moreover the arbitrator's ruling that the APS's anonymous complaint policy trumps the well-established legal obligation of an employer to investigate potential sexual harassment by its employees violates clear statutory and regulatory provisions ...."

Coughlin's attorney, Frank Mondano of Boston, has until about Dec. 7 to respond.

He has been asked to comment.

After the response, a request for a summary judgment is filed. Attorneys for both sides provide briefs. A judge reviews the briefs and issues a ruling, for which there is no set length of time.

That ruling may itself be appealed to the Mass. Court of Appeals and the Supreme Judicial Court.

Coughlin could come back to work during an appeal. It is up to the local school district as to whether to allow that.

This story was first published Tuesday, Nov. 17.