Sara Nouini

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member following three consecutive unsatisfactory Teacher Performance Appraisals (TPAs).

The Discipline Committee found that the member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, failed to comply with the Education Act, and engaged in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The member consistently failed to provide appropriate lesson plans, differentiate instruction, manage classroom behaviour, and accurately assess students.

The Committee also found the member to be incompetent, as her ongoing lack of knowledge, skill, and judgment demonstrated she was unfit to continue carrying out her professional responsibilities.

The member, facing discipline proceedings for alleged sexual abuse of a student, brought a motion for the production of third-party records, including the student's attendance records from the school board.

Applying the second stage of the O'Connor test, the Discipline Committee panel found that the attendance records were relevant to the member's ability to make full answer and defence regarding the dates of the alleged inappropriate conduct.

The panel ordered the production of the attendance records, subject to redactions of the specific reasons for the student's absences to protect privacy interests.

The Member, a teacher facing allegations of professional misconduct including sexual abuse of a student, brought a motion for the production of third-party records.

The Member sought the complainant's mental health records and portions of his Ontario Student Record (OSR), including transcripts, attendance records, and Individualized Education Plans.

The Discipline Committee applied the Mills test to the mental health records and denied production, finding them not likely relevant and that the complainant's privacy interests outweighed any probative value.

Applying the O'Connor test to the school records, the Committee found that transcripts and IEPs were privileged under the Education Act.

However, the Committee ordered the production of the complainant's attendance records and the dates he had an IEP, as these existed outside the OSR, were not privileged, and were likely relevant to establishing the timeframe of the alleged relationship.

The Member brought a motion to dismiss professional misconduct proceedings against her on the basis that the Discipline Committee lacked jurisdiction over conduct that occurred before she became a member of the College.

The allegations involved sexual abuse of a student while the Member was employed as an educational assistant, prior to her registration as a teacher.

The Majority of the Discipline Committee dismissed the motion, finding that the legislation does not explicitly restrict jurisdiction to conduct occurring during membership, and that the College's public protection mandate requires consideration of pre-registration conduct that raises serious concerns about a member's current suitability to practice.

A dissenting member would have granted the motion, interpreting the statutory silence as precluding jurisdiction over pre-registration conduct.

The Member brought a motion to adjourn her discipline hearing until it could be held in person rather than electronically.

The College consented to the adjournment but requested conditions restricting the Member's ability to teach during the delay.

The Discipline Committee granted the adjournment and imposed the requested conditions, finding that the indefinite delay increased the risk to the public of the Member continuing to teach while allegations of incompetence remained unresolved.

The Committee also set a schedule for the remainder of the hearing to prevent further undue delay.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for engaging in an inappropriate personal relationship with a vulnerable student.

Over a two-month period, the Member exchanged 213 emails with the student containing highly personal and emotionally intense comments.

The Discipline Committee accepted the Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of failing to maintain professional standards, psychological or emotional abuse, and disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional conduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a six-month suspension of the Member's certificate, and the successful completion of a course on professional boundaries.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for posting and sharing racist, xenophobic, and offensive content regarding Muslims, Islam, and refugees on his personal Facebook page, where he identified himself as an employee of the school board.

The Member pleaded guilty to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, unprofessional, and unbecoming conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on professional boundaries, appropriate use of social media, and cultural sensitivity.

The member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for repeatedly failing to adequately supervise students, resulting in students going missing or being left unattended, and for making inappropriate comments about students to parents and colleagues.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations.

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

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension of the member's certificate, and the completion of a classroom management course before returning to teaching.

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

The member did not attend the proceeding.

The panel granted the motion, accepting the College's submissions that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the matter and it would not be in the public interest to proceed.

The Member, an occasional teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct for multiple incidents involving physical, verbal, and psychological abuse of students, as well as inappropriate classroom management.

The Discipline Committee accepted the agreed statement of facts and found the Member guilty.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a six-month suspension of the Member's certificate, and the successful completion of a course on anger management and appropriate discipline before returning to teaching.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for submitting fraudulent health benefit claims totaling $2,229.84 and for failing to monitor her personal Facebook account, which allowed inappropriate and culturally insensitive comments to be posted.

The Member admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a Joint Submission on Penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand and required the Member to complete a course in ethical standards focusing on the responsible use of electronic communication and social media.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for allowing a Grade [XXX] student to drive his truck on school property and for engaging in inappropriate personal communications with another student, including advising her to leave her caregiver's care.

The Member pled guilty to the allegations.

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

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the Member to complete a course on professional boundaries.

The Member pleaded guilty to professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of a student, following a criminal conviction for sexual assault.

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

Pursuant to the mandatory revocation provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the Committee ordered a written reprimand and the immediate revocation of the Member's teaching certificate.

The Member, an occasional teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for verbally, physically, and psychologically abusing students, and for behaving inappropriately towards students and colleagues.

The Member pleaded no contest to the allegations, admitting to incidents including hitting a student with a binder, yelling at students, making inappropriate comments, and verbally abusing a Vice-Principal.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a written reprimand, a six-month suspension of the Member's Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the successful completion of a course on professional ethics, anger management, and cultural sensitivity before resuming teaching.

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

The College submitted that there was no reasonable prospect of a finding of guilt because the Member had improved his practice, obtaining two satisfactory performance appraisals following two previous unsatisfactory ones.

The Member consented to the motion.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding it was not in the public interest to expend resources on a hearing where there was no reasonable prospect of a finding against the Member.

The Member, an occasional teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for repeatedly failing to report to work, failing to attend meetings with the Board, and making unprofessional remarks about a colleague.

The Member admitted to the facts and pled guilty to professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a three-month suspension of her Certificate of Qualification and Registration, and the completion of an ethics and professional responsibilities course.

The Member, a teacher, faced a discipline hearing regarding allegations of professional misconduct, including sexual abuse of three students through inappropriate electronic communications and a criminal conviction for sexual exploitation.

The Member pled guilty to the allegations and admitted the facts.

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

Pursuant to the mandatory revocation provisions of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the Member's teaching certificate and issued a written reprimand.

The Member brought a motion for an adjournment to provide time to bring a motion addressing the Panel's jurisdiction over pre-membership conduct.

The Discipline Committee granted the adjournment and set a schedule for the jurisdiction motion and a motion for the production of third-party records, both to be heard on November 18, 2020.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for failing to call 911 when a student required medical attention after taking Xanax.

The member admitted to the facts and pled guilty to professional misconduct, specifically failing to maintain the standards of the profession, unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and requiring the member to complete a course on effective supervision with a focus on individualized student needs.

The Member, a teacher, faced allegations of professional misconduct for holding an unauthorized student event at the school during the holiday break without a custodian present, misleading the head custodian and principal about rescheduling the event, and tweeting a student's attendance record.

The Member pled guilty to failing to maintain the standards of the profession, failing to comply with the Education Act, unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

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