Omega takes the pen and a pad of paper from the desk. "First I'm going to need names, addresses, and phone numbers," he says. "Where to sent the bills and everything." He writes headers on it and hands it off to the angriest-looking man.

Then he turns to the principal. "And I want, in writing, how you're going to make sure it never happens again. So we can add that to his IEP." The Individualized Education Plan is as close to a legally-binding document as Omega's going to get.