Monika Ferenczy

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member alleging professional misconduct, including inappropriate testing accommodations, non-sexual boundary violations, and sexual abuse of a student.

The Discipline Committee found that the member committed professional misconduct by engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with the student, which included electronic communication via Facebook, using inappropriate salutations, and assisting the student in obtaining birth control.

However, the Committee dismissed the allegations of inappropriate testing accommodations, finding the member's actions reasonable given the lack of an updated Individual Education Plan.

The Committee also dismissed the allegation of sexual abuse, finding the student's testimony lacked credibility due to numerous inconsistencies and potential motives to fabricate the allegation.

The member was found guilty of failing to maintain the standards of the profession and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, unprofessional, and unbecoming conduct.

The Member, a Grade 8 teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for allowing students to leave their cabin unsupervised during a class trip and for posting photos of students on her personal Facebook page without parental permission.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and the completion of a professional boundaries course.

The Committee also ordered that the findings and order be published with the Member's name, rejecting the Member's request for publication without name, to serve the principles of specific and general deterrence.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member whose teaching certificate had been cancelled by the Nova Scotia Department of Education for professional misconduct.

The member had engaged in inappropriate behaviour over a three-year period, including making sexual comments to colleagues, discussing his personal relationships with students, and conducting unsafe experiments.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct based on the findings from Nova Scotia.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that his name be published in the College's official publication.

The Member, a secondary school teacher, pled guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in an inappropriate personal and sexual relationship with a student.

The Member had previously pled guilty to criminal charges of sexual exploitation and was sentenced to 14 months' imprisonment.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and Joint Submission on Penalty, finding the Member guilty of professional misconduct and sexual abuse of a student.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and directed that the decision be published with the Member's name to serve as a general and specific deterrent.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for incompetence following three unsatisfactory performance appraisals.

The member did not attend the hearing but submitted a plea of no contest and a statement of uncontested facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member incompetent due to persistent deficiencies in classroom management, curriculum delivery, and assessment practices.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered that terms, conditions, and limitations be placed on the member's certificate, requiring her to successfully complete an approved Additional Qualification course before returning to teaching.

The member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct following a criminal conviction for driving with a blood-alcohol level over 80mg.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and Joint Submission on Resolution.

The member was reprimanded.

The only contested issue was whether the member's name should be published in the decision summary.

The Committee ordered publication of the member's name, finding it necessary for transparency and as a general and specific deterrent.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw the allegations of professional misconduct set out in the Notice of Hearing against the Member.

College Counsel advised that there was no witness available to testify, making it difficult to prove the case.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, concluding that the withdrawal was appropriate and served to protect the public interest.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct involving the use of physical force on students.

The member admitted to grabbing and pushing students on three separate occasions, despite receiving prior cautions and being transferred to a different school.

The Discipline Committee accepted the member's guilty plea and found him guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a one-month suspension of the member's certificate, a reprimand, and the completion of courses on appropriate boundaries and classroom management.

The Committee also ordered that the decision be published with the member's name, finding that the repeated nature of the misconduct outweighed the mitigating factors.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who had previously been found guilty of unprofessional conduct by the Northwest Territories Ministry of Education.

The member had engaged in grooming behaviour and initiated a sexual relationship with a student, resulting in the cancellation of his teaching certificate in the Northwest Territories.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct under Ontario Regulation 437/97, relying on the findings from the other jurisdiction.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that the decision be published with his name.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for pursuing a personal and sexual relationship with a student.

The Member pleaded no contest to the uncontested facts, which included communicating with the student about personal matters, meeting alone off school property, and attempting to initiate a sexual encounter.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct and sexual abuse.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that the decision be published with the Member's name.

The Member, a teacher, was convicted of possessing, making available, and accessing child pornography.

He was sentenced to 53 months in jail and prohibited from being in the presence of children under 16 for 20 years.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct based on his criminal convictions.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed publication of the decision with his name, emphasizing the need to protect children and maintain public confidence in the profession.

The College brought a motion seeking leave to withdraw allegations of professional misconduct against the member set out in a 2009 Notice of Hearing.

College counsel advised that the allegations dated back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, and that none of the witnesses were willing or able to testify to the events.

As there was no reasonable prospect of obtaining a finding of professional misconduct due to insufficient evidence, and with the consent of the member, the Discipline Committee granted the motion and authorized the withdrawal of the allegations.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought discipline proceedings against a member for falsely claiming to have completed an Additional Qualification course in French as a Second Language and providing forged documents from Queen's University to her school board employer.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for providing false information, falsifying records, and engaging in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension of her teaching certificate, a requirement to complete a professional ethics course, and publication of the decision.

The Member, a principal and teacher, was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers.

The Member had previously been convicted in criminal court of sexual assault and sexual touching of a student under 14 years of age whom he was tutoring.

The Committee found that the criminal convictions constituted professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of a student.

The Committee ordered the revocation of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration and directed that the decision be published with the Member's name.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a former principal who misappropriated funds from a non-public school account.

The member wrote himself cheques totalling $16,000 and left an additional $72,500 unaccounted for.

He subsequently pled guilty to criminal charges of theft over $5,000 and received a conditional sentence.

The member did not attend the discipline hearing but submitted a Memorandum of Agreement pleading guilty to professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission, found the member guilty of professional misconduct, and ordered the immediate revocation of his teaching certificate.

The Ontario College of Teachers alleged that the member was incompetent based on three unsatisfactory performance appraisals conducted by a school principal during the 2008-2009 school year.

The Discipline Committee found that the evidence presented, which was limited to the principal's performance appraisals, was insufficient to discharge the College's burden of proof.

The Committee noted the absence of corroborating evidence such as lesson plans or student work, and observed that the member had demonstrated some improvement.

The allegations of incompetence were dismissed.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who had been convicted criminally of sexual touching of four minor students and possession of child pornography.

The member did not attend the hearing.

Relying on the criminal convictions, the Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of students.

Given the egregious nature of the conduct and the need to protect children, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's teaching certificate and publication of the decision.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a motion to withdraw allegations of professional misconduct against the Member.

The Member did not attend the hearing but provided an undertaking to resign from the College immediately, never seek reinstatement, and never teach again in Ontario.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the withdrawal of the Notice of Hearing upon these undertakings was reasonable and protected the public interest.

The Member, an elementary school principal, pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct arising from an inappropriate relationship with a student.

The Member engaged in ongoing personal electronic communications, met with the student outside of school, exchanged gifts, and spent extended periods alone with the student.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and imposing conditions on the Member's certificate requiring psychological or psychiatric clearance before returning to work.

The Committee also ordered publication of the decision with the Member's name, emphasizing the need for specific and general deterrence.