A former Allentown School District principal is suing the district, alleging a hostile work environment where she was harassed and discriminated against, leading her to resign in July 2024.
In the federal lawsuit filed April 10, lawyers for former Roosevelt Elementary School principal Elizabeth Serrano wrote that she was subjected to pervasive discrimination and harassment based on her race, and was retaliated against for complaining about the discrimination.
District spokesperson Melissa Reese said the district is aware of the lawsuit.
“As this matter is currently in active litigation, the District will respond through the appropriate legal process and is limited in what it can address publicly at this time,” she said in an email Monday.
Serrano, who is Puerto Rican, worked at the district for 18 years, and was qualified for all the positions she held, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that some staff members made negative comments about students of color, including one employee telling her that “you cannot allow these kids to control due to your background.”
Serrano also got into some disagreements with school staff over disciplining students, the suit states. One teacher had a breakdown when a student was not suspended for more than two days over an incident, when district policy states that type of incident should only get a one-day suspension, the lawsuit states. That teacher allegedly told Serrano she did not take those situations seriously and made the school unsafe.
Additionally, her supervisors allegedly said 18 people left the school because of her, the suit states.
In November 2023, Serrano met with her supervisors and was presented two choices: accept an undefined role in special education, or stay in her job under a focused assistance plan, according to the lawsuit. She perceived this as a quid pro quo, and that the focused assistance plan would not be on her record if she took the special education role, her lawyers wrote.
Serrano was also told in a later meeting that an assistance plan would be a “path to be fired,” court documents state. She told her supervisors she would explore the special education role, but was never given details about it, the suit alleges.
“The alternative position was a different and lower-status role outside Ms. Serrano’s principalship, with undefined duties, authority, and compensation, and her continued employment was conditioned on accepting that position or remaining in her current position under a Focus Assistance Plan she was expressly told would lead to her termination,” her lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.
After those meetings she tried to get legal representation for future meetings, but her supervisors would not allow it at the next one, the lawsuit alleges.
Serrano alleges she was given three different versions of the focused assistance plan, which raised questions about the transparency and intent of the process. Her lawyers wrote similarly situated white administrators in the district were treated better.
Serrano filed complaints of discrimination and harassment in 2024. She was made aware of complaints about her only after her claims, and when she asked to review the complaints, she was denied, the lawsuit states. An independent investigation found her claims were unsubstantiated, but she disputed the completeness of that.
The district’s conduct left her with “no reasonable alternative” than to resign, otherwise she would have continued to be subject to discriminatory and retaliatory conduct, the lawsuit states. She is demanding a jury trial in the lawsuit, and seeks unspecified damages.
Staff writer Elizabeth DeOrnellas contributed to this report.