Polk Emerson is mute. He cannot go to the bathroom by himself. He frequently runs away from caretakers, sometimes into the street. He is 19, but has the mental age of an 18-month-old, according to evaluations by specialists. He attends year-round a private facility for students with special needs in Pennsylvania.

For the past 10 months, DC Public Schools has been trying to transfer him to his neighborhood school, Dunbar Senior High School.