The Maine Department of Education expects to finally adopt a comprehensive revision of rules governing restraint and seclusion of students (Rule Chapter 33) by the end of this week. The effective date of the rule will be set by the Office of the Secretary of State and is expected to be June 7.
Under the rule, a certain number of staff in schools and other covered programs must receive training regarding the use of restraint and seclusion. The training must be obtained from training programs approved by the Department of Education.
The Department is now accepting applications for training programs that are seeking approval under Rule Chapter 33. Once programs are approved, they will be listed on the restraints page of the Department’s website.
The Department recognizes that staff of covered entities will not have the required training on the rule’s effective date, due to the lack of approved training programs prior to the effective date. Covered entities should make every effort to obtain the necessary training as quickly as possible once approved programs are available, but in no case later than the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. We will provide notice in the Commissioner’s Update and the Maine DOE Newsroom when training programs are approved.
For further information about the process for approval of training programs, please contact Jonathan Braff at jonathan.braff@maine.gov.
Resources and more information
- Jonathan Braff
Due Process Complaint Investigator
207-624-6644
jonathan.braff@maine.gov - Restraints page