Oregon's new suspension and expulsion rules: what every certified center needs by now

Oregon's law against suspending and expelling young children from child care, SB 236 (2021), took effect in July 2026.¹ The Department of Early Learning and Care's permanent rules for how programs comply took effect September 1, 2026, and they apply to certified centers, certified and registered family child care homes, and outdoor nature-based programs.²

If your center has never formally expelled a child, it's tempting to file this under "doesn't apply to us." It does. Every certified center now needs a written policy, and the rules spell out exactly what to do the first time a child's behavior starts pushing toward "we can't keep them."

This summary follows the rule text for certified centers, OAR 414-305-0750. It isn't legal advice.³

Who counts as a "young child"

The rules protect children from six weeks old until they're eligible for kindergarten on or before the first day of the current school year.³ If you also serve school-age children, this rule covers your infant, toddler and preschool rooms.

1. You need a written prevention policy

Every certified center must write and follow a suspension and expulsion prevention policy. It has to be consistent with your behavior and guidance policy, and it must say:³

• what supports and tools already exist at your center;
• when and how classroom staff must ask for help, how the director or another designated person responds, and what support staff will get;
• how you'll decide a child needs more support;
• when you'll request services from Every Child Belongs (ECB), DELC's suspension and expulsion prevention program; and
• how you'll tell a family about concerns with their child's behavior, for example in writing or at a conference.

The policy joins the list of policies you share with families and staff, and must be available to view at the center.²³

2. When a child is "facing potential expulsion"

The rules define it by what's already happened, not by a decision you've made. Signs include using the strategies in your behavior and guidance policy without the behavior improving, using a temporary safety-based intervention, or physically restraining the child more than once.³ At that point the center must:

1. Document the behavior Record the challenging behaviors and any known triggers, such as particular activities, times of day, or transitions.
2. Document what you've tried Record the strategies and supports you've used and how well they worked.
3. Request services from Every Child Belongs Requests go through everychildbelongs.org.¹
4. Tell the family at the same time Contact the family to start solving the problem together, and agree how often and how you'll keep in touch. If you can't reach them, try other ways and document each attempt.

3. Temporary safety-based interventions

The rules don't require a center to keep a child in care while their behavior puts people in danger. A center may temporarily remove a young child when the behavior is a serious safety threat, meaning it endangers the child's or others' physical safety and can't be reduced with the center's existing strategies.³ There are conditions:

• You must first have tried the strategies in your behavior and guidance policy, strategies the family suggested, and recommendations from professionals already consulted about the child, and you must document the behavior.
• You must notify the family (or another emergency contact) immediately, contact ECB immediately if you haven't already, and notify the Child Care Licensing Division of the intervention and its expected length by 5:00 pm the next business day.
• The removal can last only as long as it takes to put supports in place, and must end as soon as safety can be maintained. You must document why it lasted as long as it did.
• While the child is out, you keep the family updated on supports, any behavior changes at home, and when the child can come back.

4. Physical restraint

Existing restraint rules still apply: restraint only when safety is threatened, as gently and briefly as possible, reported and documented. What's new is that if a young child is restrained more than once, the center must contact Every Child Belongs by 5:00 pm the next business day, if it hasn't already.³

In RoundUp, dated incident records and messages to families give you the written trail these rules ask for. See Incidents and accidents.