LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge says a lawsuit may proceed against Lincoln Public Schools over treatment of a 12-year-old boy with autism.

The lawsuit filed two years ago says the boy suffered mental health problems after being kept in a special safe room at school dozens of times during the 2010-11 school year. The lawsuit says his parents were not notified about the boy’s handling, as district policy requires.

The district sought dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing in part that the family didn’t exhaust remedies available through federal special education law.

In ruling last week for the unnamed parents of the boy, Judge Andrew Jacobsen said they should be able to seek compensation in court because there was no remedy for them under the federal law.