OCT 2014

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member who taught a Transportation Technology course.

The member admitted to professional misconduct for failing to keep accurate records of services provided on privately owned vehicles and for using school funds to purchase auto parts for his personal vehicles.

The Discipline Committee accepted the member's plea of no contest and found him guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, the completion of a course on professional ethics and record keeping, and publication of the decision with the member's name, emphasizing the need for general deterrence and the protection of the public interest.

The member, a teacher, pleaded guilty to professional misconduct and sexual abuse of students after admitting to taking upskirt photographs of female students in his classroom.

The member had previously pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of accosting or annoying persons of the opposite sex in Massachusetts.

The Discipline Committee accepted the agreed statement of facts and joint submission on penalty, ordering the revocation of the member's teaching certificate.

The Committee also ordered that the member's name be published in the College's official publication, finding that transparency and deterrence outweighed the member's mitigating factors.

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

The criminal charges underlying the allegations had been withdrawn by the Crown due to no reasonable prospect of conviction.

In exchange for the withdrawal of the disciplinary allegations, the member signed an Undertaking and Acknowledgement to immediately resign his membership, never seek reinstatement, and never teach in Ontario again.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding the withdrawal in exchange for the undertaking reasonable and in the public interest.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a teacher for professional misconduct and incompetence.

The teacher received two unsatisfactory performance appraisals and demonstrated significant deficiencies in planning, teaching methods, student evaluation, and classroom management.

The Discipline Committee found the teacher guilty of professional misconduct and incompetence, noting her refusal to follow improvement plans and inappropriate behaviour towards students.

The Committee ordered a one-month suspension, a reprimand, and imposed conditions requiring the completion of remedial courses before returning to teaching.

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

The College advised that the key witness and his parents had not responded to repeated attempts to communicate, leaving no reasonable prospect of obtaining a finding of professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding the withdrawal to be reasonable, appropriate, and in the public interest.

A minority decision of the Discipline Committee of the Ontario College of Teachers regarding allegations of professional misconduct against a teacher.

The dissenting member disagreed with the majority's finding on professional misconduct, concluding that the member's statement to a student, 'I want to shoot you,' warranted a finding of professional misconduct.

Despite mitigating factors such as the member's frustration and lack of intent to harm, the dissenting member emphasized the adverse effect the words had on the student and the school community, asserting that such statements are unacceptable in a school setting.

The Ontario College of Teachers alleged that the member committed professional misconduct by telling a student she felt violent and wanted to shoot her.

The member admitted to saying 'I could shoot you' out of frustration when the student lost an assignment, but denied mentioning a gun or feeling violent.

The Discipline Committee found that while the language was intemperate and inappropriate, it was inadvertent and did not breach a reasonable boundary of classroom management.

The Committee dismissed all allegations of professional misconduct, concluding that the member's conduct did not meet the threshold for a finding of professional misconduct.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for alleged professional misconduct and incompetence related to classroom management during the 2009-2010 academic year.

The member was accused of permitting student disruptions, failing to report potentially harmful misconduct, and failing to control students on a field trip.

The Discipline Committee found that the member repeatedly failed to submit required conduct reports and failed to adequately supervise students during several serious incidents, including a classroom intrusion and a stink bomb incident.

The Committee concluded that the member's acts of omission constituted professional misconduct and demonstrated incompetence, rendering her unfit to carry out professional responsibilities without terms, conditions, or limitations.

The Member, a teacher, pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct for massaging the feet of a special education student without parental consent.

The Member claimed the touching was a sensory technique, but acknowledged failing to inform the parents or obtain their consent.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct and ordered a reprimand, a one-month suspension, and the completion of courses on boundaries and special education.

The Committee ordered publication of the decision without the Member's name, noting the misconduct was at the lower end of the spectrum and involved poor judgment rather than inappropriate touching.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for professional misconduct relating to her use of excessive discipline, including yelling at and pushing students.

The member pleaded no contest to the allegations and admitted to the facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to maintain the standards of the profession, unprofessional conduct, and conduct unbecoming a member.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, required the member to complete a course on classroom management and discipline strategies before returning to teaching, and directed publication of the decision with the member's name.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought a discipline proceeding against a member for professional misconduct relating to her failure to adequately supervise students.

During the 2010-2011 school year, several incidents occurred in the member's classroom resulting in injuries to students, including biting, scratching, and strangling.

The member admitted to struggling with classroom management and agreed to a finding of professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand.

The Committee also ordered that the member's name be published in the College's official publication, finding that publication was necessary for specific and general deterrence and to serve the public interest.

The Member, a teacher, faced a discipline hearing for professional misconduct related to his failure to adequately supervise students during an overnight school trip.

The Member was the sole teacher supervising 34 students at a conference and left the students unsupervised at the hotel for several hours late at night.

He also allowed students free access to his hotel room.

The Member pleaded guilty to the allegations.

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

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a 5-day suspension (already served), and the successful completion of a course on effective supervision and boundaries.

The member, a teacher, engaged in an inappropriate Facebook chat with a student about drinking alcohol at the member's home.

The member pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct.

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

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

The Committee also ordered that the findings and the member's name be published in the College's official publication.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against the Member alleging incompetence following two unsatisfactory performance appraisals.

The Member did not attend the hearing but entered into a Memorandum of Agreement admitting to the facts and pleading to incompetence.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission, finding the Member incompetent for displaying a lack of knowledge, skill, or judgment.

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 seeking employment requiring a certificate.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who misused a school board's procurement credit card for personal gas purchases on seven occasions.

The member admitted to the misconduct, resigned from his employment, and reimbursed the board.

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

The Committee ordered an oral reprimand, required the member to complete a course on ethical behaviour, and prohibited him from assuming financial responsibilities in any employment requiring a teaching certificate for two years following the course.

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

The withdrawal was sought in exchange for an undertaking and acknowledgment signed by the member, in which he agreed to resign his membership immediately and never seek reinstatement or teach again in Ontario.

The Discipline Committee granted the motion, finding that the withdrawal of the Notice of Hearing in exchange for the undertaking was reasonable and served to protect the public interest.

The Member, an experienced teacher, received two unsatisfactory performance appraisals noting concerns in lesson planning, curriculum delivery, classroom management, communication, and evaluation.

The Member resigned and subsequently pled no contest to incompetence before the Discipline Committee.

The Committee accepted a Memorandum of Agreement, found the Member incompetent, and ordered terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate requiring her to complete an additional qualification course and submit her next performance appraisal to the Registrar.

The Ontario College of Teachers brought disciplinary proceedings against a member for failing to adequately supervise and maintain appropriate safety standards in a shop classroom over a four-year period.

The member pleaded no contest to allegations of professional misconduct, including failing to prevent students from using equipment unsafely, resulting in injuries such as welder's flash.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand and imposing terms, conditions, and limitations on the member's certificate requiring the completion of courses in manufacturing-based technology and classroom management.

The Committee also ordered publication of the decision with the member's name, finding that the serious and repeated nature of the misconduct outweighed arguments for non-publication based on the passage of time.

The Discipline Committee held a penalty hearing after finding the member guilty of professional misconduct for failing to maintain appropriate boundaries with students.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Committee ordered a three-month suspension of the member's teaching certificate, required him to complete a course on maintaining boundaries before accepting any teaching position, and ordered a verbal reprimand and publication of the decision.

The Member, a teacher, pled no contest to allegations of professional misconduct arising from his harassing behaviour towards a colleague following the end of their romantic relationship.

Over a 12-month period, the Member made unwanted phone calls and inappropriate comments to and about the colleague and her spouse, causing her to feel uncomfortable at work and report the harassment to the police.

The Discipline Committee found the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, the completion of a course on professional boundaries and ethics, and publication of the decision with the Member's name in the College's official publication, emphasizing the need for specific and general deterrence.