Violence has become a routine part of life for many students in New York City schools.

There’s ample data to prove it, but even more powerful are the stories of the students affected by this epidemic of violence — the 8-year-old boy who stabbed his ear with a pencil to block out his peers’ taunts, the 11-year-old girl who eats lunch in the bathroom to avoid her longtime bully and the 13-year-old boy who was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder after years of abuse.

These three stories — along with thousands more that haven’t yet come to light — have something in common. In each of these cases, school administrators and city officials knew that violence and harassment were taking place but did nothing to fix the situation, endangering the victims over and over again.

Outraged by their treatment at the hands of the New York City Department of Education, a group of students, parents and grandparents are now looking to the courts. They’ve filed a class-action lawsuit against the DOE in hopes of providing their children — and children across New York City — with the safe schools they deserve.

As violent incidents take place week after week at district schools in the five boroughs, the city continues to insist schools are getting safer. Not so: State data show that city public schools have recently seen a 23 percent spike in violent incidents. NYPD data show a 25 percent spike in weapon recoveries. This is the painful reality for our city’s kids.

Slowly, the disturbing implications of these statistics have become public. Families who have experienced New York City’s crisis of violence firsthand are speaking out, sharing their stories with the media after the Department of Education repeatedly refused to listen.

Each time a new case of abuse against a district school student comes to light, officials issue a boilerplate statement intended to reassure parents and prevent further criticism. The city refuses to acknowledge that these cases are symptomatic of a much larger problem, and often refuses to discipline the student or staff member who committed the violent act.

Under state and federal law, New York City’s Department of Education is required to establish and enforce a thorough set of procedures for reporting, investigating and responding to violence against students. By failing to implement these procedures, the DOE has deprived the student plaintiffs in this lawsuit, as well as thousands of other bullied and abused children throughout the city, of their legal right to a safe public education.

This crisis didn’t materialize overnight. The parents and grandparents who are suing the city have picked up the phone too many times to hear a child crying on the other end, struggling through tears to explain a new instance of verbal, physical or sexual abuse. They have called, emailed and visited school administrators and DOE officials over and over, but either been stonewalled or ignored altogether.

Sometimes, the city even punishes their abused children, suspending them from school or removing them from the classroom indefinitely. This cannot be allowed to continue.

While none of the plaintiffs is seeking financial damages from the Department of Education, they do hope to leave a larger mark on the city’s education landscape.

They want to see serious repairs made to a broken system — including the assignment of independent safety monitors to city district schools, the creation of an action plan to combat and prevent further violence and the investigation of past incidents that have yet to be settled.

They also want to ensure that future generations of New York City students will have access to the secure learning environment they deserve, no matter their race, age or zip code. Finally, they want to be able to look their children and grandchildren in the eyes every day and tell them with confidence that they don’t have to be afraid to go to school.

This lawsuit has the power to change the country’s largest school district for good. The New York City Department of Education should be held accountable for its wrongs, and should implement real reforms to become compliant with state and federal law. Once that happens, the city can start building a secure district school system. Maybe then, when we’re told that New York City’s district schools are safe, we will actually believe it.

Jeremiah Kittredge is CEO of Families for Excellent Schools.