US sues NYC, saying it allowed discrimination at high school

According to the lawsuit, the school's principal at the time, Minerva Zanca, made derogatory racial comments to an assistant principal about the teachers.

According to court papers, a magistrate judge wrote last year that Zanca denied the allegations.

In a release, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said it was "nearly unthinkable that, in this day and age, one of the largest and most diverse school districts in the United States would allow racial discrimination and retaliation to flourish."

The lawsuit sought damages for alleged retaliation that occurred against the assistant principal, who said Zanca had told him in the fall of 2012 that the best method to force a teacher out of a school was to give multiple unsatisfactory ratings following lesson reviews.