In 1974, eighteen-year-old Eric Blum is assumed to be in his last year as a student at Noah Webster Preparatory, a school for special needs kids in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. Eric had suffered from dyslexia and an emotional breakdown after his brother was killed in Vietnam. Eric must prove to the school psychologist, Dr. Goldman, and the authorities that he is now academically and emotionally stable enough to graduate. Otherwise, he will be placed back into twelfth grade, but in a public school, to academically catch up to take the SAT and qualify for college. Meanwhile, Eric finds himself falling in love with his history teacher, Carole Schor. At Webster, Carole sees Eric only in two ways, as one of her students and a trusted friend outside school.

Today people pass by an overgrown institution that did not always agree with the teaching philosophies of public schools or the excuses of ADD or ADHD, but accepted the fact that some people just think outside the box, no matter what color or size school bus they travel on. Those kids who rode the short yellow bus should not be ashamed or embarrassed. And those people who tormented them should realize those children weren't "retarded."