Manhattan, Illinois parents fighting to keep autistic daughter in neighborhood school after district said they couldn't teach her

She was counting down the days to the first day of 5th grade until her south suburban school district told her she didn't have a spot there. Now, a federal judge has ordered the district to put the 10-year-old girl with autism back in her neighborhood school.

The girl's parents sued to stop the Manhattan School District 114 from sending her to a therapeutic school without their consent.

This week, a federal judge ruled in the family's favor, and she's back in class at her neighborhood school for now. Her family is hoping the judge's ruling becomes permanent.

The girl, who CBS News Chicago is identifying only as "E," loves a lot of the things that 5th graders love, from bedazzling with gems to a wide variety of animals.

"My math teacher has a tortoise," she said.

E was diagnosed with a specific kind of autism that can make the demands of the school day especially difficult.

And after some time in home schooling, her parents said she wanted to socialize with other students at her neighborhood school.

"She wants to be close to the kids again. She wants those relationships," said her mother, Kelly Femrite.

Her parents said they felt like she was making huge strides back in the classroom at Manhattan Intermediate, but at the end of last school year, the district told them they couldn't teach her anymore, and she'd be enrolled at a therapeutic day school about an hour from their house.

"We tried explaining over and over, it's just like how you would handle another autistic child or a child with a disability. You just work with their providers and their parents, and you figure out a plan that works for them," Kelly said.

In court filings, the district argued the therapeutic school placement was appropriate and that the family had previously agreed to it.

"When they asked me, and I'm like, 'I guess if this is all we have, I guess that's all we have,'" said E's father, Michael Femrite.

After many attempts to work it out behind the scenes and at the state level, the family's attorney took the fight to federal court.

"The district is just throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks. They're reaching out to schools for kids with intellectual disabilities, even though E does not have an intellectual disability," attorney Meredith McBride said. "She's being excluded from public school just because she has a disability."

On Tuesday, one day before classes were set to begin, a federal judge in Chicago ordered District 114 to enroll E and follow the accommodations in her existing student plan. But the order is temporary, with another hearing set for next week.

Meanwhile, E said she's happy to be back in class.

"I would be still homeschooled, and I would miss my friends," she said.

The school district said they wouldn't comment on the specifics of the case, but said they will "continue to work with the family through the process and remain focused on the best interest of our student."

"They're not following the law. Like you have the right if you do not want her to go to that therapeutic day school. You can revoke it. She's doing better. She's progressing. Let's fight for her to go back to the district school," Manhattan School District 114 parent Kelli Ferrite said.

21:29:30 I would still be homeschooled and I would miss my friends.

MEGAN ON CAM:

Coming up at 6… how the case got this far… and why this family says they're not giving up any time soon.

Reporting in Manhattan, Megan De Mar CBS News Chicago Investigators.