Code of Maine Rules
05 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
071 - EDUCATION - GENERAL
Chapter 33 - RULE GOVERNING PHYSICAL RESTRAINT AND SECLUSION
Section 071-33-12 - STAFF TRAINING; APPROVED PROGRAMS
Current through 2024-13, March 27, 2024
The Department of Education shall maintain a directory of approved training programs on its website at http://maine.gov/education/. The list of approved training programs may include regional training programs and regional "train the trainer" model programs. These training programs must require participants to demonstrate competency to achieve certification, and must include instruction in at least the following core components:
1. The use of non-physical interventions for responding to potentially dangerous behaviors, including de-escalation and the use of positive alternatives;
2. Identification of dangerous behaviors that may indicate the need for physical restraint or seclusion and methods for evaluating the risk of harm to determine whether such interventions are warranted;
3. Instruction and simulated experience in administering safe physical restraint techniques across a range of increasingly restrictive interventions, including the safe movement of a student, and in recognizing and avoiding positions involving a high risk of restraint-related positional asphyxia (restricting a student's ability to breathe);
4. The effects of physical restraint and seclusion on a student, including monitoring physical and psychological signs of distress and when to obtain medical assistance in compliance with the covered entity's procedures for emergency interventions;
5. The risks and realities of physical restraint and seclusion; and
6. A review of the process of student and staff debriefing.
Each covered entity shall ensure that a sufficient number of administrators or designees, general and special education staff, maintain certification in an approved training program. A list of staff with the required approved training must be made available in each building office, as well as any central office, along with other school-wide emergency procedures and must be updated at least annually.
