The jury rejected claims by the boy's mother that the boy's civil rights were violated when he was restrained face down on the floor or taken by force from his classroom 145 times in a six-month period in 2000.

At the start of the four-week trial, school lawyers said workers restrained the emotionally disturbed boy for his own protection and kept him from harming other students and staff at Alvin Dunn Elementary School.

The boy is not being identified by The San Diego Union-Tribune  because he is a juvenile.

The verdict was a vindication for special education teachers and aides who dedicate their lives to helping troubled children, said Daniel Shinoff, a lawyer for the San Marcos Unified School District.

A lawyer for the boy and his mother said the verdict was disappointing.

Shannon Petersen said jurors told him outside court that they didn't approve of the way the boy was treated, but were concerned about hurting school finances.

The boy's mother bristled at school district lawyers who called her son "out of control" and "extremely psychotic."

"He's not a monster," she said outside court. "He's not a psychotic crazed animal. He's a sweet, special boy."

She said the lawsuit was not about money. "It was about the way they treated my son."

Her son attended special education classes at the district while living in a San Marcos group home for emotionally troubled children.

His psychological problems surfaced shortly after he was sexually abused when he was 4 years old, and he has spent time in mental hospitals for children, according to court records.

While at school he was loud and obnoxious, refused to cooperate with staffers and soiled his pants, at times threatening to throw his feces at teachers, aides and fellow students, school officials said.

The boy, a ward of the court, now lives in an institution for troubled children.