Footman's father did neither. He told his son's lawyers that he had been overwhelmed with his own problems.

Days later, Footman committed his first assault against a district staffer. He struck Walter Hopewell, Roosevelt's dean of students, who was trying to help Costello.

The assault was serious enough for Footman to be transferred to Daniel Boone, a privately run disciplinary school in North Philadelphia. He also was referred for psychological therapy, but he missed half of his 10 appointments.

At first, he had trouble at Boone, too. In January 2005, Footman became enraged when told to read a book; at age 12, Footman could read only on a third-grade level.

He hurled the book at a classroom sink, striking a hot-water pipe and flooding the room.

But there was improvement. He began to thrive in the controlled setting of the disciplinary school, where he got 10 hours of group counseling and 20 hours of emotional and behavioral help each week.

"James attends school regularly, and is almost always engaged in lessons," teachers reported. "James enjoys participating in class discussions. James responds well to positive feedback."

That lasted 18 months.

District officials decided last June that Footman was ready to return to a regular school. He was told to enroll at Germantown High in September.

Rulers who don't know the rules

At Frankford High, principal Richard Mantell struggled this year with how to handle a special-education student who twice took a knife to school. School staff mistakenly thought they needed a parent's written approval before they could transfer the child.

"We learned some things," he said, "and we can probably proceed a little quicker if this issue presents itself again."

The regulations have gotten some principals in trouble. Kevin King, former principal of South Philadelphia High School, was demoted to assistant principal, in part, because he suspended too many students, including mentally retarded students. Some special-education students were suspended more than 15 days, in violation of the law, said John Frangipani, King's supervisor.

The final straw came in October when King suspended for one day an emotionally disturbed student who cursed at a staff member and used a racial epithet. King said the student also had threatened an administrator, but district officials said they were not aware of a threat. The staffer involved did not return calls for comment.

King, who now works at William Penn High School, stands by his decision.

"If you allow those behaviors over a period of time, they become accepted," he said.

Frangipani said King should have given the student in-school suspension and taken district training to become better acquainted with regulations.

Plenty of blame to go around

He was supposed to get 30 hours of help each week, including 10 hours of group counseling, which Germantown did not provide, the district acknowledged in court records.