School Told to Take Back Ousted Boy, 6

A federal judge Wednesday ordered the Ocean View School District to take 6-year-old Jimmy Peters back into his kindergarten class for the final week of the school year, ruling that administrators had not proved that the child is dangerous.

Jimmy, who was removed from his class May 25 after the school district filed a lawsuit contending that his learning disabilities make him uncontrollable, will return in time for year-end activities at Circle View Elementary School under the ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Matthew Byrne.

The case has attracted attention because it pits the rights of students with special needs--whose parents increasingly are demanding that they be taught in mainstream classrooms--against their peers’ desire to learn without unreasonable distractions.

District officials filed suit against Jimmy, asking a judge to remove him from the mainstream class because of what they claimed was violent behavior. According to state law, a disabled child cannot be removed from a class unless the district has a parent’s permission or a judge’s order.