DES MOINES (AP) - State education officials are weighing limits on using physical force and "timeout" rooms in schools to discipline unruly students.

Under a proposal before the Iowa Board of Education, teachers would be limited in how and when they can lock up students. It would also ban risky methods of restraint, including chokeholds. Teachers would be trained to use "positive" alternatives, such as talking through disputes with students.

State law allows school officials to restrain and confine children who are a threat to themselves or others, just as group homes do. But critics say educators overdo it sometimes.

The proposal would be part of Iowa's corporal punishment law, which covers public and private schools and area education agencies.

A public hearing will be held July 8, with a vote expected in the fall.