OXFORD – Special Education Director Jane Morse told the Oxford Hills School District Board of Directors on Monday that an updated and stricter state law governing the use of physical restraint on students may go too far.

“It does not protect classes from disruptions,” Morse said. She and special education assistant Jessica Yates reviewed the updated rule known as Chapter 33, which went into effect on July 1. The new rule clarifies definitions and applications of physical restraint and seclusion.

Although a physical restraint law had been in place, the rule was updated in recent months by a special task force, following complaints from some parents of special education students that during extreme cases of restraint some childrens’ airways were potentially restricted.

There have been a few deaths reported across the country because of this but none in Maine, Morse said.

The new rule applies not just to special education students and teachers, but to any student or school employee, and anyone working within the school district, such as a contractor, or at a school activity.

For example, Morse said, if student “Johnny” has a tantrum and falls to the floor no one can touch the boy unless there is a threat of imminent danger to the student or others.

The rule stipulates that physical restraint may be used “only as an emergency intervention when the behavior of a student presents imminent risk of injury or harm to the student or others, and only after other less intrusive interventions have failed or been deemed inappropriate.”

Because the new rule does not allow a child to be physically moved in most cases, a student can disrupt a classroom and unless vocal intervention works little else can be done, short of calling police who are not bound by the physical restraint rule.

“There is no one to protect the other students,” school board member Elizabeth Swift of Hebron said. “One kid can ruin it all.”

Yates told directors that staff are now being trained in the updated rule. By the end of the month, there will be four certified trainers in the school district, she said.

While part of the rule has been in place already, Morse said some of the changes include reporting and followup requirements. This includes a two-day requirement to fill out a report and submit it to a school administrator, and developing and implementing a written plan to address the child’s action in certain cases.

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