A group of fed-up students and parents on Thursday declared their independence from incompetent New York City teachers shielded by the state’s tenure and seniority laws.

In the wake of a landmark anti-tenure ruling in California, the coalition of 11 students filed a class-action lawsuit in Staten Island state ­Supreme Court, seeking to eliminate protections afforded to bad teachers.

“This lawsuit has to do with students’ rights and parents’ rights. We have to do away with the ‘students last’ policies. No one is talking about the children who are failing every day,” said Staten Island dad Sam Pirozzolo, a co-leader of the New York City Parents Union.

His two children, Franklin and Samantha, are plaintiffs in the suit against the city and state Education departments.

Bronx mom and parent-union leader Mona Davids, whose two kids, Mymoena and Eric, are also plaintiffs, said, “It’s great that the lawsuit coincides with Independence Day. We’re declaring independence so our children will be put first.”

The suit was fueled by a ruling last month in California, where an LA judge struck down that state’s tenure and seniority laws as harmful to poor and minority students by sticking them in classes with bad teachers.

Similarly, the New York suit contends that the state’s tenure laws deny the city’s neediest students their constitutional right to a “sound, basic education” by saddling them with the worst teachers.

The highest percentage of teachers who receive unsatisfactory ratings are currently assigned to the neediest schools, the suit claims.

“The tenure system as embodied in the Tenure Laws and the NY Education Law render it impossible for the defendants to deliver a sound basic education to all students, as there is no recourse to remove incompetent teachers who cannot deliver a sound basic education,” the suit says.

It cites data showing that only 12 teachers — out of 75,000 — were fired because of poor performance in a given year between 1997 and 2007. That’s because it can take up to 18 months and cost taxpayers $250,000 to try to replace an incompetent teacher with due-process rights. Principals must spend hours filling out paperwork and attending hearings in cases that are decided by state arbitrators.

“Teachers who receive multiple ‘unsatisfactory’ ratings, missed entire weeks of work or even physically abused students can remain in the classroom over the objections of their schools,” ­according to the suit, filed by lawyer Jonathan Tribiano.

The city referred questions on the suit to the Law Department.

The United Federation of Teachers responded to the suit by saying that tenure is not “lifetime employment” but rather “ ‘due process’ to help ensure that teachers are not disciplined or fired for purely political reasons . . . or their supervisors’ animosity.”