A federal lawsuit has been filed against Madison City Schools and two administrators stemming from an altercation on a school bus in December between an assistant principal and a student.

The school system said at the time that the assistant principal was struck repeatedly in the back of the head and received a bite that bloodied his arm during the incident at James Clemens High School. Video captured by students on the bus appeared to show an administrator striking a student seated on the bus.

Related: See video of bus altercation

Related: Video shows assistant principal, student in altercation on Madison school bus

The lawsuit was filed by a female student who said she was struck repeatedly by the assistant principal. The student’s mother is also a plaintiff. Neither of the plaintiffs are named in the suit.

Defendants, in addition to the school board, are James Clemens Assistant Principal James Watts and Brian Clayton, who was principal at the school at the time and is now the superintendent of Hartselle City Schools.

“Madison City Schools does not comment on pending litigation or personnel issues,” the school system said Tuesday in a statement to AL.com.

Clayton declined to comment when contacted by AL.com.

The lawsuit said that the female student, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, was struck in the stomach by another student during an argument over a seat on the bus. Watts escorted the student who punched Jane Doe off the bus.

Watts then returned to Jane Doe on the bus, the lawsuit said, and as she was trying to exit the bus, “he grabbed her wrist and pushed her back into one of the bus seats.” The lawsuit said Watts then “pushed his forearm into Jane Doe’s face forcing her head back into the seat.”

At this point, the lawsuit said Jane Doe bit Watts’ arm.

“In retaliation and apparently now at a complete loss over his emotions, Defendant Watts began punching Jane Doe in the face with a closed fist,” the lawsuit said. Watts then “punched” Jane Doe “in the head twice more,” the lawsuit said.

Two videos of the incident obtained by AL.com appeared to show a man striking a female student.

The lawsuit said another student jumped on Watts’ back in an effort to stop him.

Clayton was standing at the front of the bus throughout the incident and did nothing until the student jumped on Watts’ back, the lawsuit said. The principal escorted Watts from the bus so that pictures could be taken of the bite mark and instructed the school resource officer to arrest Jane Doe, the lawsuit said.

Jane Doe was handcuffed, placed in the back of a police vehicle and taken to the Madison police station, the lawsuit said. She was later released to her mother, the lawsuit said.

Madison City Schools Superintendent Ed Nichols said at a press conference the day after the incident that no punishment was planned for any of the administrators involved and that the assistant principal felt he was in danger.

“While we hate the altercation happened, we don’t ever want altercations between students, we also know that there comes a point in time — we’ll provide you with pictures of the injury this this administrator received — that they have to have an opportunity to defend themselves from further harm,” Nichols said at the press conference.

“(The assistant principal) felt the need to protect himself and he did so,” Nichols said.

The lawsuit said, “Unsurprisingly, no disciplinary action has been taken against Defendant Watts by Madison City Schools.” Jane Doe was suspended and not allowed to return to class “for weeks,” the lawsuit said. The student who jumped on Watts’ back received in-school suspension, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, filed by Huntsville attorneys Teri Mastando and Eric Artrip, includes five counts: Violation of Title IX against the school board, Violation of 14th Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection against Clayton and Watts, Assault by Watts, Negligence by Clayton and Watts as well as Recklessness/Wantonness against Clayton and Watts.