A multi-million-dollar lawsuit brought by San Francisco school board member Alison Collins against the district and five of her colleagues has been tossed by a federal judge, who said her claims had no merit.
Judge Haywood Gilliam, Jr. ruled on Monday just three days before the filing was the be argued in court for the first time, according to court documents. Collins sued her fellow school board members and the San Francisco Unified School District for $87 million in March alleging her civil rights were violated after a series of tweets she sent in 2016 were unearthed.
Earlier in March, Collins was stripped of her title as San Francisco Board of Education vice president and taken off committee assignments following outrage and criticism over the controversial Twitter thread in which she used racially-charged language to describe Asian Americans.
Collins defended her tweets, claiming they were "taken out of context."
She had asked to be reinstated as Board of Education vice president and placed back in committee assignments as part of the lawsuit, a request the paper reported the judge also denied.
When Collins initially filed the lawsuit, her attorney told KCBS Radio's Kathy Novak it would be pulled if board members fulfilled three requests within seven days: issue Collins a written apology, reinstate her as Board of Education vice president and to her committee positions, and commit to not taking any future action against Collins.
Many city officials, including Mayor London Breed and several school board members, had called on Collins to resign.
The Twitter thread in question used racial stereotypes, accusing Asian Americans of using "white supremacist thinking" and believing "they benefit from the 'model minority' BS," among other controversial statements.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Unified School District told KCBS Radio: "We're focused on supporting students as they begin the new school year. It's a relief to have this distraction removed."
Collins has not responded to inquiries for this story.
You can read the judge's full order below.
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