New York City Sued By Students And Parents Over School Violence, Rampant Bullying

Parents and students sued some New York City schools for failing to address increasing levels of violence and in keeping the children safe. The federal complaint against the U.S. Department of Education was filed on Wednesday in Brooklyn, New York.

According to the lawsuit documents, the schools have a "staggering" level of violence directed mostly towards minority students, but unfortunately, those numbers are continually growing as well. It was also reported that white and Asian students, in contrast, experience less violence at school.

"The violence knows few boundaries, except that, on average, white and Asian students encounter far fewer incidents of school violence than black and Hispanic students," the lawsuit claimed. Among those commonly abused in the schools are younger students, the disabled and LGBT students.

Increasing Levels of Violence

The complaint said that between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, violent incidents inside city schools increased 23 percent. Forcible sex offenses climbed up to 90 percent, while there's a 48 percent rise in assaults resulting in serious physical injury.

Among the plaintiffs is Families for Excellent Schools, a powerful charter-school advocacy group, the Washington Post reported. Children who are plaintiffs in the complaint claimed that they experienced bullying or attacks from their fellow students and even from their teachers.

Students who report assaults usually suffered retaliation from their schools, the lawsuit noted. New York City has the largest public school system in the United States. Around 1,800 schools have 1.1 million students, Reuters wrote.

Mayor Fires Back

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dismissed the lawsuit's claim of rising violence in city schools. He said that "major crime" in schools has lessened by 14 percent this year as of now, while other crimes are down by almost 7 percent, the Washington Post reported.

"I was a public school parent as recently as last June, and we never want to see a weapon in schools," de Blasio said, as quoted by the news outlet. "I view each incidence as obviously troubling. We absolutely have more work to do, but school safety is showing us consistently that they can and will continue to drive down crime in the schools, and keep all students and staff safe."

The lawsuit "seeks to mandate new anti-bullying and anti-violence regulations and to force the education department to enforce policies already on the books," Reuters reported. The complaint also alleged that violence in New York City's schools "violates children's constitutional rights and deprives them of their right to a safe education, which is guaranteed by state law," as per the Washington Post.

In March, four students have been caught carrying loaded guns inside city schools, NBC noted. The lawsuit also alleged that school officials under-report school violence. A 2015 audit by the state comptroller found that 10 public schools didn't report almost one-third of violent incidents.