The Maine Department of Education (DOE) has adopted Rule Chapter 33 (ME HP1360), a comprehensive set of revised rules governing restraint and seclusion of students. The rules take effect July 1, 2012.
 
Chapter 33’s core components require that staff be trained in and deemed competent in:

  • Responding to potentially dangerous behavior with nonphysical interventions such as de-escalation and positive alternatives.
  • Identifying behaviors that necessitate physical restraint or seclusion, evaluating risk of harm, and determining when physical intervention is warranted.
  • Practicing safe physical restraint techniques, safely moving students, and recognizing and avoiding positions that pose a risk of restraint-related positional asphyxia.
  • Understanding the effects of physical restraint and seclusion; monitoring for physical and psychological signs of distress; recognizing when to obtain medical assistance.
  • Recognizing the risks and realities of physical restraint and seclusion.
  • Conducting student and staff debriefings.

 
Additionally, the rules require that “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 and any central office, along with other school-wide emergency procedures and must be updated at least annually.”
 
CPI can help you meet Maine's requirements!
CPI is an approved training provider in Maine. Schools throughout the state and across the US use the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program because it's been shown to be effective in both the prevention of and the safe use of physical restraint. CPI training focuses on prevention and de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to restraint and seclusion, as well as how to use safer, less-restrictive physical interventions only as a last resort. Training gives staff tools to organize their thinking about risk behavior and help them determine the most appropriate, least restrictive intervention to use in each unique situation.

Tailoring Training to Your School’s Needs
CPI training can be tailored to the unique needs of your school or district. With our train-the-trainer option, select staff can be certified to teach the program to other staff on a continuing basis. We also offer specialized materials to help connect the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program skills and strategies with your school-wide PBIS plan to increase positive student behavior.

How to Get Training
We can bring the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program on site to your school, or you can attend training in one of more than 150 public locations throughout the US.

View the Maine DOE's list of approved training programs.