Casey, my daughter's 6th grade science fair project was rat related (it was about how rats grow based on diet). Anyways, she also did have to do the extra paperwork because she was using live animals. If I remember correctly it even included a plan for the rats after the "experiment" was over. It was actually a great project, she really enjoyed it and won a nice prize for it as well. The two rats went on to nice long lives are breeder females in my breeder/feeder colony.

Sorry your child's school is giving you the run around. Sometimes it's a tad frustrating to deal with this stuff but if your daughter is excited about her rat maze project then that's the one she should push to do. Being really interested in something is always going to make the whole experience that much better I think.