In the first session of the 129th legislature, LD 1370, An Act To Address Dangerous Behavior in the Classroom, was passed. In a collaborative effort to provide unified guidance to our profession and colleagues, the leaders of Maine Department of Education(DOE), Maine Education Association (MEA), Maine Principals Association(MPA),Maine School Superintendents Association and Maine School Board Association (MSSA/MSBA), and Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities(MADSEC) have met and reached consensus on the following:
Unified Guidance on LD1 370
- Dangerous Behavior – student behavior that presents a risk of injury or harm to others; this applies to all students, including those with 504 plans or IEPs.
- Procedure –
- A school employee reports behavior, invoking the process;
- Administrator/designee investigates the incident and reaches out to bargaining unit leadership, who will appoint an individual.
- The administrator/designee reviews report with the appointed staff person.
- If incident is substantiated as dangerous behavior, the administrator/designee consults with the staff member who was subjected to the behavior (if applicable) in the development of a response plan aimed at supporting safer behaviors. *If the plan is not in alignment with an existing 504 plan or IEP, the administrator/designee will provide the appropriate team with information from the consultation with impacted staff person. The team will consider appropriate revisions to the 504 plan or IEP, as needed.
- Staff Sick Leave –
- A physician’s note must verify that time out of work is necessary due to injury caused by substantiated dangerous behavior by a student.
- Paid leave will be provided without impacting the employee’s existing benefits.
- If the necessity of time out of work, due to injury caused by substantiated dangerous behavior of a student, cannot be verified by a physician’s note, paid leave will be adjusted accordingly.
We are grateful for the partnership and stewardship of these organizations.