DISCIPLINE COMMITTEE OF THE ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS

Citation: Ontario College of Teachers v Sypus 2018 ONOCT 9

Date: 2018-01-29

IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 and the Regulation (Ontario Regulation 437/97) thereunder;

AND IN THE MATTER OF a discipline proceeding against

Mark Anthony Sypus, a member of the Ontario College of Teachers.

PANEL: Jane Ishibashi, Chair

Tom Potter

Ravi Vethamany, OCT

BETWEEN: ) Shane D’Souza,

) McCarthy Tétrault LLP, ) for Ontario College of Teachers,

ONTARIO COLLEGE OF TEACHERS ) assisted by Annie Lacroix,

) Law Clerk

– and – )

MARK ANTHONY SYPUS ) Jerry Raso,

(CERTIFICATE #494536) ) Ontario English Catholic Teachers’

) Association,

) for Mark Anthony Sypus

) Robin McKechney,

) Steinecke Maciura LeBlanc, ) Independent Legal Counsel

) ) Heard: January 29, 2018

DECISION, REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER

This matter came on for hearing before a panel of the Discipline Committee (the “Committee”) on January 29, 2018 at the Ontario College of Teachers (the “College”) at Toronto.

An Amended Notice of Hearing dated November 4, 2014 (Exhibit 1) was served on Mark Anthony Sypus (the “Member”), requesting his presence on December 15, 2014 to set a date for hearing, and specifying the charges. The hearing was subsequently set for January 29, 2018.

The Member was in attendance for the hearing and had legal representation. The Committee was advised at the outset of the hearing that the parties had entered into an agreement with respect to the hearing.

THE ALLEGATIONS

The allegations against the Member in the Amended Notice of Hearing are as follows:

IT IS ALLEGED that the Member is guilty of professional misconduct as defined in subsection 30(2) of the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (the “Act”) in that:

(a) he failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5);

(b) he abused a student or students verbally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7);

(d) he abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2);

(e) he failed to comply with the Education Act, Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990, chapter E.2, and specifically subsection 264(1) thereof or the Regulations made under that Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15);

(f) he committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(18); and

(g) he engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).

AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

College Counsel presented the Committee with the parties’ Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea (Exhibit 2), which provides the following:

Mark Anthony Sypus is a member of the Ontario College of Teachers. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit “A” is a copy of the Ontario College of Teachers Registered Member Information with respect to the Member.
At all material times, the Member was employed by the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board (the “Board”) as an [XXX] teacher.
On or around June 12, 2013, the Member was a [XXX] teacher at [XXX] School. The Member made inappropriate comments to students in his class which included:

(a) calling students useless, immature, stupid and/or special;

(b) saying that students’ questions were dumb;

(d) telling a male student to “grow a pair.”

Following the June 2013 incident, the Board permanently removed the Member’s name from the Board’s [XXX] of [XXX] teachers. A copy of the Board’s September 13, 2013 letter to the Member advising him of their decision is attached at Exhibit “B”.

GUILTY PLEA

By this document², the Member admits the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in the paragraphs above (the “Admitted Facts”).
The Member hereby acknowledges that the Admitted Facts constitute conduct which is professional misconduct and pleads guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him, being more particularly breaches of Ontario Regulation 437/97 subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).
By this document the Member states that:

(a) he understands fully the nature of the allegations against him;

(b) he understands that by signing this document he is consenting to the evidence as set out in the Admitted Facts being presented to the Discipline Committee;

(c) he understands that by pleading guilty to the allegations, he is waiving the right to require the College to otherwise prove the case against him and the right to have a hearing;

(d) he understands that the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons shall be published on the College’s website, and that a summary of the Discipline Committee’s decision and reasons, including his name, shall be published in the official publication of the College;

(e) he understands that any agreement between the parties with respect to the penalty proposed does not bind the Discipline Committee;

(f) he understands and acknowledges that he is executing this Agreement voluntarily, unequivocally, and with the advice of legal counsel.

In light of the Admitted Facts and circumstances and the guilty plea, the Ontario College of Teachers and the Member jointly submit that the Discipline Committee find the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

DECISION

Counsel for the College requested that the allegation of professional misconduct outlined in paragraph (c) of the Amended Notice of Hearing, namely that the Member contravened subsection 1(7.1) of Ontario Regulation 437/97, be withdrawn. The Committee granted the request.

Having considered the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and the submissions of the parties, the Committee rendered an oral decision on January 29, 2018 finding the Member guilty of professional misconduct. In particular, the Committee found that the Member committed acts of professional misconduct as alleged, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Member admitted the truth of the facts and exhibits referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and pleaded guilty to the allegations of professional misconduct against him. He acknowledged and the Committee accepts that the Admitted Facts constitute conduct which is professional misconduct, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsections 1(5), 1(7), 1(7.2), 1(15), 1(18) and 1(19).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member failed to maintain the standards of the profession, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(5).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member abused a student or students verbally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member abused a student or students psychologically or emotionally, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(7.2).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member failed to comply with the Education Act, Revised Statutes of Ontario, 1990, chapter E.2, and specifically subsection 264(1) thereof or the Regulations made under that Act, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(15).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member committed acts that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(18).

Paragraph 3 of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea demonstrates that the Member engaged in conduct unbecoming a member, contrary to Ontario Regulation 437/97, subsection 1(19).

JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY

Through a Joint Submission on Penalty (Exhibit 3), the parties jointly submitted that the appropriate penalty to be imposed in this matter would be that the Committee:

direct that the Member appear before the Committee immediately following the hearing of this matter to receive a reprimand which will be delivered in person at the offices of the Ontario College of Teachers, 101 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario, and the fact of the reprimand is to be recorded on the Register of the Ontario College of Teachers (the “Register”); and
direct the Registrar to impose the following terms, conditions or limitations on the Member’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration, the fact of such terms, conditions or limitations to be recorded on the Register until such time as they are fulfilled:

(a) prior to commencing a teaching position or any position for which a Certificate of Qualification and Registration is required (a “Teaching Position”), the Member shall enrol in and successfully complete at his own expense, a course of instruction pre-approved by the Registrar regarding appropriate communications with students and classroom management, subject to the following conditions:

(i) the Member will provide to a course provider approved by the Registrar, a copy of the Agreed Statement of Facts and Guilty Plea and Joint Submission on Penalty documents made exhibits at the hearing of this matter, and the Decision and Reasons of the Discipline Committee;

(ii) following review of the documents noted at paragraph (i) above, the course provider will provide to the Registrar, for approval, a syllabus for the proposed course which specifically addresses the Discipline Committee’s concerns regarding the Member’s professional misconduct. The syllabus proposed by the course provider shall also specify the length of the course to be undertaken by the Member, and the assignments to be completed by the Member;

(b) within 30 days of his completion of the course outlined in (a) above, the Member shall provide to the Registrar a written report from the course provider:

(i) stating that the Member has successfully completed the course and reporting on the progress of the Member with respect to addressing the outlined goals of the course.

PENALTY DECISION

In an oral decision rendered on January 29, 2018, the Committee accepted the Joint Submission on Penalty presented by the parties and made an order in accordance with its terms, as set out above.

REASONS FOR PENALTY DECISION

The Committee accepts the penalty jointly proposed by the parties. The Committee recognizes that, once it ensures that it has jurisdiction to make the order requested, the law confines the Committee’s role to determining whether the proposed penalty is so unreasonable that accepting it would bring the administration of the discipline process into disrepute or be otherwise contrary to the public interest. The Committee finds that the penalty proposed in the Joint Submission on Penalty is proportionate to the misconduct committed by the Member and is reasonable given the circumstances of this case. The penalty proposed by the parties is also within a reasonable range, based on the following analogous cases presented by the parties: Ontario College of Teachers v. Santos, 2016 ONOCT 59; Ontario College of Teachers v. Williams, 2016 ONOCT 55; and Ontario College of Teachers v. Gefter, 2017 ONOCT 47.

The Committee finds that the Member’s inappropriate comments to students warrant a reprimand by his peers. The Member told students that they were useless, immature, stupid or special; he told students that their questions were “dumb”; he made inappropriate comments about a student’s makeup; and he told a male student to “grow a pair.” Members of the teaching profession are expected to provide students with safe and supportive learning environments and to serve as role models. The Committee is concerned that the Member’s conduct in this instance fell short of meeting these expectations. The reprimand will allow the Committee to directly address its concerns with the Member and will serve as a specific deterrent. Recording the fact of the reprimand on the Register will serve as a general deterrent to other members of the profession.

The Committee finds that the course of instruction regarding appropriate communications with students and classroom management will assist in the rehabilitation of the Member, as the Member has indicated that he intends to return to teaching. The coursework will remind the Member of his obligations as a teacher and will help him to make better decisions in any future interactions with students.

The Committee is satisfied that the penalty is appropriate in the circumstances and meets the principle of serving and protecting the public interest.

Date: January 29, 2018

Jane Ishibashi

Chair, Discipline Panel

______________________________ Tom Potter

Member, Discipline Panel