Sandra Pizzuti

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct.

The member admitted to failing to adequately supervise students, undermining colleagues and school administration, and violating professional boundaries by communicating inappropriately with students on social media and driving them in her personal vehicle.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, finding the member guilty of professional misconduct.

The member was ordered to receive a reprimand, serve a three-month suspension, and complete a course on professional boundaries and ethics.

The Ontario College of Teachers alleged that the Member engaged in professional misconduct by having a personal/romantic relationship and engaging in sexual touching with a former student between 1986 and 1988.

The Discipline Committee assessed the credibility and reliability of both the complainant and the Member.

The Committee found that while both witnesses were generally credible, the complainant's evidence contained inconsistencies regarding timelines and specific details of the alleged incidents.

The Committee concluded that the College failed to prove the allegations on a balance of probabilities and dismissed the professional misconduct charges.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought discipline proceedings against a member for alleged professional misconduct, including sexual abuse and sexual misconduct involving a student.

The student, who had returned to his home country, was unavailable to testify.

The Discipline Committee admitted the student's videotaped police statement under the principled exception to hearsay, finding it necessary and reliable.

The Committee found the member engaged in grooming behaviour, sent inappropriate and sexual messages over social media, and touched the student sexually without consent.

The member was found guilty of professional misconduct, sexual abuse, and sexual misconduct.

An interim suspension was ordered pending a penalty hearing.

The member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for engaging in inappropriate electronic communications with a former student over social media.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including psychological or emotional abuse of a student, and conduct that was disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a written reprimand, a three-month suspension of the member's certificate, and the completion of a course on boundary violations.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who had been convicted criminally of possessing child pornography in the form of written words.

The member had engaged in an online conversation seeking a sexual encounter involving a 16-year-old and sent nude photographs.

The member did not attend the hearing but submitted an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including engaging in a prohibited act involving child pornography, failing to maintain the standards of the profession, and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

Pursuant to the mandatory penalty provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996, the Committee ordered that the member be reprimanded and directed the Registrar to immediately revoke the member's certificate of qualification and registration.

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

The member agreed to resign, never teach again in Ontario, and not seek reinstatement.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, noting the vulnerability of a young witness, the loss of significant evidence, and that the member's resignation and undertaking adequately protected the public interest.

The member, a classroom teacher, was found guilty of professional misconduct for participating in the improper alteration of a student's midterm mark on their Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) file.

The Discipline Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension commencing September 1, 2023, and the successful completion of a professional ethics course.

The Committee also ordered the member to pay $5,000 in costs to the College, applying the Hall factors and noting the member's cooperative conduct during the contested hearing.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a vice-principal for failing to report allegations that a teacher was inappropriately touching students.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to comply with the regulations, engaging in unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the member to complete a course on professional ethics focusing on the duty to report.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for her involvement in the improper alteration of a student's mid-term mark on their Ontario Universities' Application Centre (OUAC) file.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member approached the school's Department Head of Student Services with concerns about the student's mark and its impact on university admissions.

The Member agreed to a plan where the Department Head unilaterally increased the student's mark from 80% to 91% on OUAC without the knowledge of the classroom teacher or administration.

The Committee concluded that the Member's actions breached ethical and professional standards, constituting dishonourable and unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct, alleging verbal abuse and inappropriate classroom management.

The member pleaded no contest to an agreed statement of facts, admitting to calling a student a 'mad dog', slamming a door in a student's face, and leaving a student unsupervised in the hallway.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a one-month suspension, and mandatory coursework on classroom management, noting the member's prior disciplinary history for similar conduct.

The member, acting as a school's university application administrator, pled guilty to professional misconduct after falsifying a student's midterm grade in the provincial application system.

The member increased the student's grade from 80% to 91% without authorization to bolster the student's chances of admission to a competitive university program.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a four-month suspension of the member's certificate of qualification, and the successful completion of a professional ethics course.