Rather than expel high-school student Jeremy Wartenberg, who had cursed his teachers, sold cigarettes on campus and told a fellow student he wanted to kill him, California's Capistrano Unified School District was compelled under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to place Jeremy in the "least restrictive environment" possible due to his Attention Deficit Disorder. To accommodate him, the school placed Jeremy in special-education classes five days a week, but he continued to act out in class and failed all six of his courses.

Jeremy's parents transferred him to a private school, then sued the district for reimbursement of the $20,000 annual tuition. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the district must pay the tuition, plus an additional $130,000 for the family's attorney fees. Altogether, that's enough to educate almost 35 California public school students for a year.

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