Jin Ho, a Chinese student at Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School who was beaten by several African-American students in school, sued the school and the Department of Education. The plaintiff is asking $5 million in compensation for the school’s failure to protect him. This is the first case involving a student suing for violence in school in recent years.

Salvatore Aspromonte of Dansker &Aspromonte Associates represented Ho and said that this case is a class-action suit. He urged all students who had been harassed at Lafayette to contact his office — students who were victims of violence in the school or those who witnessed violence in school. Aspromonte served papers to the school and the education department.

According to Michael Zen, a Chinese-American lawyer with Dansker &Aspromonte, they accepted the case not only to make sure that the city government would take responsibility for its failure, but also to increase awareness of the violence at Lafayette High School. According to Zen, news reports and his office’s initial investigation reveal that it had become a pattern for Asian students to be harassed by other students. Furthermore, the school and the department of education did not take the necessary steps to provide protection for the students.

Brooklyn’s Lafayette High School is considered the most violent public school among the top ten most violent schools in New York City. Two years ago, several African-American students beat a Chinese-American student after a teacher spoke up for him in class. He suffered a concussion. Earlier in March, an international student from Hong Kong was severely beaten by another African-American student. He suffered injury to his eyes and his nose was broken. Another Chinese student was also beaten in the same incident.

After being victimized in school, Ho did not remain silent. On the contrary, he used different channels to fight for his rights. After the incident, despite many Asian students claiming that it was scary to attend classes and African-American students admitting that there were gangs in the school, the school principal told reporters that Chinese students were not being harassed and that the school was taking steps to protect them.

According to his office’s initial investigation, said Zen, Ho’s attack was not an isolated incident. They were going to use the court to fight for justice for Chinese students. The suit alleges that the school’s policy on student safety was negligent and reckless. He hoped that this case would increase awareness on school violence.

Aspromonte also pointed out that his law office found the violence in public schools very disturbing and it sought to fight for the victimized students. He urged those who had been harassed to call (212) 732-2929.