Parents and teachers have filed a federal lawsuit to block the planned shutdown of Crotona Academy High School.

Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio's office announced that a number of failing schools in the city would close.

Crotona is among then, and parents, students and teachers have rallied to try and avert such a fate. 

Parents say most of the students at the school are minorities, some of them have special needs and others live in transitional housing. They say moving them to a new school environment could harm their education.

A number of city and school officials met with community members on the issue Thursday afternoon.