ALBANY — Two more students who were punished for their roles in a racist Instagram incident at Albany High are suing school district officials and their principal, alleging violations of their right to free speech, as well as being forced to endure public shaming, violence and emotional abuse.

Students also allege that school district officials and administrators “created a racially hostile environment,” by allowing the identification of the two students, who were among a total of 13 they say were identified, as well as subjected to violence, verbal and emotional abuse for five hours during a protest, without any protection from the school. They also say they were singled out at a so-called “restorative justice session” later held at the school, aimed at healing wounds in the community by allowing the injured to air their grievances. They charge that some teachers and administrators not only condoned and supported the event, but many of them participated in it.

“None of the administrators did anything to prevent these students from being assaulted, placed, in fear for their lives, and held there, some for over five hours, terrified,” reads the lawsuit filed by attorney Joseph Salama on behalf of the two plaintiffs. “Two of the Thirteen (students) were even attacked, resulting in one being rushed to the hospital with a broken nose.” Police say that allegation is under investigation.

School district officials could not immediately be reached for comment. But the lawsuit comes on the heels of a similar lawsuit filed on behalf of four other Albany High juniors by attorney Alan Beck earlier this month. At the time, Superintendent Valerie Williams addressed similar allegations, in a statement to the Albany school district community.

“The district is currently reviewing the lawsuit and will take appropriate action in responding to it,” Williams said. “The district takes great care to ensure that our students feel safe at school, and we are committed to providing an inclusive and respectful learning environment for all of our students. The district intends to defend this commitment and its conduct within the court system.”

The latest lawsuit also alleges the students were denied due process of law and their fundamental right to an education.

“When the school punished them for their three comments on Instagram and/or their “likes” they violated their First Amendment rights because this is private, off campus speech which disrupted nothing — until the school announced it to every student on campus,” the complaint states.

All students associated with the account were suspended, many for as long as five days, according to the lawsuit, which claimed administrators lengthened the suspension without proper authority.

The complaint also alleges that the school violated the students’ Fourth Amendment rights to be free from seizure, and their 14th Amendment liberty right to be free from attack.

On March 20, students reported to teachers about an Instagram account on which racist memes were posted. Three students are alleged to have posted to the account and others had “liked” the images. According to school officials, parents and students, the images included those of 11 students — most of them girls, and all but one a person of color — and the school’s African-American girls basketball coach with nooses drawn around the necks of those photographed and side-by-side photos of the girls and apes.

Two days later, the students were suspended, according to the lawsuit, and upon their return on March 30, the school organized a mediation to foster “restorative justice” intended to enable each side to express their feelings and to allow the students to apologize. But the students filing the lawsuit say that the depicted girls were given “free reign to berate the Thirteen (students), disregarding their degrees of involvement and not hearing their apologies.”

The lawsuit also says “the mediation itself was an absurdity,” although it was characterized by Superintendent Williams to the media, as “a peaceful gathering” and smashing success.

“The Thirteen (students) were fed to the protesters,” the lawsuit states. “Hundreds of students surrounded them, lined them up and forced them to endure hours of shaming, yelling, berating, screaming and verbal and emotional abuse.”

The lawsuit is asking that school officials be prevented from taking any further negative action from the students. It is also demanding that the district expunge any record of the suspensions and all comments on the two students’ academic records regarding the incident and not be penalized for missed exams or homework. They are asking the judge to allow them to continue their education at a school equal to Albany High — which they say they can no longer attend — without fear of threats, at the cost of the school district, rather than simply be offered the option to take online classes, which the school has offered in lieu of attending school.

The students are also asking to be permitted to read their letters of apology to those depicted, to the entirety of the student body, uninterrupted, the lawsuit states.

“The students “are terrified to set foot on campus,” it further states. “Although the administration ‘welcomed’ them back, there’s no way they would ever be safe there again.”