Lauren Roth

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The 8-year-old boy hit, kicked and bit his teachers, threw a metal pipe and missed, broke a window, tore out computer wiring and ran away from his Orange County, Fla., school.

He now has a mug shot and a rap sheet detailing five arrests since November, all on charges that stem from his troubled behavior at Riverside Elementary. The boy is assigned to a special unit at the school for youngsters with significant emotional or behavioral problems. The Orlando Sentinel is not naming the boy because of his age.

News of the boy's latest arrest last week -- on an aggravated-assault charge, among others -- raised alarm among advocates for disabled children and among those who think Florida schools are too quick to involve police when kids misbehave.