ST. PAUL, Minn. – A high school teacher who was seriously injured when he was assaulted by a student is suing St. Paul Public Schools, claiming the district’s lenient student discipline policies led to the attack.

Meanwhile, more St. Paul teachers and parents are speaking out – albeit anonymously, through a local newspaper columnist – about the deplorable conditions in their district.

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One parent specifically criticized the district’s practice of taking a light approach toward discipline for black students, apparently because school administrators believe they have suffered due to “white privilege” in the schools.

Central High School teacher John Ekblad was allegedly body slammed and choked to unconsciousness by student Fon’Tae O’Bannon on Dec. 4. He suffered head injuries and was hospitalized for several days.

O’Bannon, 16, has been charged with third-degree assault.

Ekblad is apparently not willing to write the incident off as just another hard day at work. The law firm of Villaume & Shiek, P.A. issued a statement Monday saying it will be representing Ekblad in a civil suit against the school, according to CBS Minnesota:

“The school district has been on notice that there is a physical violence problem towards teachers in the school district by its students. However, the school district has failed to properly safeguard its teachers.

“The school district had knowledge of the harassment, violence, or assaultive behavior of its students, but did not take any appropriate disciplinary action against its students, nor did the school district take any remedial action to prevent assaultive or dangerous conduct.”

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Meanwhile, more St. Paul teachers and residents are speaking out about the dangerous schools.

Last week columnist Ruben Rosaria of the St. Paul Pioneer Press shared excerpts from a series of emails he received from one St. Paul teacher who wished to remain anonymous, for fear of reprisal. The teacher said she and her colleagues were frightened of many students, and lamented the loss of learning that occurs every day.

That prompted many more St. Paul teachers and school district residents to email Rosario with their thoughts on the issue.

“I believe voicing my opinion about the violent students and asking for proper help for them ultimately took away the tenure I should have earned,” wrote one former St. Paul teacher who chose to resign out of fear. “I chose not to teach anymore for my personal sanity and safety. My family life and health suffered from the daily stress and anxiety I faced.”

A teacher’s spouse wrote: “He feels so beaten down, physically and emotionally, that sometimes he just goes straight to bed. He’s exhausted, wiped out, depressed. Every day, he deals with students who threaten him physically, who swear at him, who disrupt his classes so profoundly that nobody else can learn.

“Every day, he sees classrooms where kids are out of control and face no consequences. Every day, he sees a complete lack of any sort of discipline. Meanwhile, I see the toll this takes on his health, on our marriage and on our family. It’s constant, and it’s crushing.”

One parent seemed to place the blame on the district’s apparent determination to show extra leniency toward disruptive black students.

Several observers have blamed that practice on the district’s contractual relationship with a consulting firm called Pacific Educational Group, which believes American schools are designed to favor white students, who in turn are the beneficiaries of “white privilege,” to the detriment of black and other minority students.

PEG reportedly urges schools to take a more lax disciplinary approach toward disruptive black students, due to the social injustice they face.

“As a parent of bi-racial children, I expect high expectations, consistency, and clear rules,” the parent wrote. “The leniency due to adverse conditions and crisis in my/our lives cannot be an excuse for behaviors that are not allowed in school or the world.”