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Discipline Decisions


Bill Welcome but Needs Strengthening, 
College Tells Legislature Committee



The College of Teachers has told MPPs examining Bill 101, the Student Protection Act, that while the legislation is welcome, it needs to be strengthened in three key areas to properly protect the province’s students.
The government introduced Bill 101 in response to former Justice Sydney Robins’ report Protecting Our Children, released in April 2000. The report reviewed how Ontario’s publicly funded school system deals with sexual abuse and stems from the highly publicized case of Ken DeLuca, a Sault Ste. Marie teacher who pleaded guilty to abusing 13 students from 1973 to 1993. The abuse continued even though allegations were made against him as early as 1973.
"We’re pleased that protecting children against sexual abuse is at the top of the government’s agenda," said College Chair Larry Capstick as he appeared before the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Justice and Social Policy. "We are concerned, however, that Bill 101 does not respond to all the recommendations of Justice Robins and the College and fails to give authorities the tools they need for early intervention to protect children."
The College is particularly concerned about the decision not to follow Robins’ recommendation to define prohibited activity as "sexual misconduct" instead of "sexual abuse." Robins preferred sexual misconduct because it is broader in scope and covers offensive conduct, such as the grooming of future victims. Sexual abuse will be more difficult to detect and prevent with the government’s proposed definition.
"The notion of sexual abuse focuses on the impact on the victim rather than the responsibility of the professional," said Capstick. "The proposed definition of sexual abuse derived from the Regulated Health Professions Act doesn’t reflect the unique context of the school system."
"Teachers are mentors and role models and often advise students on a range of issues, sometimes quite personal. Our profession is unique because we are with students for hours every day throughout the school year and develop close ties based on respect and trust."


R E P O R T I N G   D U T Y

The College is also concerned that Bill 101 does not go far enough to prevent sexual predators from moving from school to school undetected. In fact, there is no duty under the bill to report to the College the transfer of a teacher suspected of sexual misconduct to another school.
Following the College’s presentation, the government added to the bill a duty to report to the College when a teacher resigns in the course of an investigation by his or her employer into allegations of sexual abuse.
"We’re pleased that the government has agreed to deal with this problem, which we’ve come across time and time again in the course of our investigations and hearings and has also been well documented by Justice Robins," said College Registrar Joe Atkinson.
"We believe that the way this bill strengthens the reporting requirements on boards and other employers, as well as the College, is very important in helping us do our job properly. The clarification that teachers are not obliged to inform colleagues who are the subject of an allegation of sexual misconduct was another key recommendation by Justice Robins and should be helpful."


3 6   R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

The Robins report made 36 recommendations relating directly to the College’s mandate. The College held its own consultations with teachers’ federations, school boards, parents, chiefs of police and children’s aid societies, and submitted to the government significant amendments to the College’s Professional Misconduct Regulation.
The College Council recommended that, when the government enacted the College recommendations, a professional advisory be sent to all members on the issue of sexual misconduct.
Education Minister Janet Ecker said the bill uses a definition of sexual abuse based on the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA). The College is concerned that the definition may not take into account that teachers have a privileged position of trust and authority, unlike that of healthcare workers.
"The College maintains that teachers hold a position of trust and moral authority over students that is unlike any relationship between adults," said Atkinson.
The RHPA defines sexual abuse for health care workers as sexual intercourse or other forms of physical sexual relations between the member and the patient, touching of a sexual nature of the patient by the member, or behaviour or remarks of a sexual nature by the member towards the patient.


P R E V E N T I O N   T H E   K E Y

The RHPA definition falls short of Robins’ advice to broaden its scope and adopt the concept of sexual misconduct rather than the more limited notion of sexual abuse. Council felt that the progressive approach recommended by Robins would help prevent sexual abuse as much as it would allow the profession to deal with it appropriately.
"I use the term ‘sexual misconduct’ to embrace the full range of offensive activities of a sexual nature that teachers could engage in," said Robins in his report. "The term ‘sexual abuse’ is a narrower term which may not be suitable to describe some offensive conduct of a sexual nature which nonetheless should be proscribed."
The College believes strongly that it is necessary to have safeguards in place to prevent sexual misconduct by detecting and taking action early against grooming, a behaviour Justice Robins identified as a strong indicator of potential sexual abuse.
Robins describes grooming as an intentional prelude to abuse, an attempt to test the waters before engaging in abusive behaviour. It is how some sexual predators identify potential victims, prepare them by making them compliant through various means — special relationship, treats, favours and attention — and reduce their ability to defend themselves or disclose the impropriety to others.


P R O P O S E D   C H A N G E S   I N   N E W   L E G I S L A T I O N

The proposed changes of Bill 101 include:

• mandatory reporting to the College when a teacher is charged with a sexual offence against 
  a student
• removing from the classroom teachers charged with sexual abuse and other offences
• a wider duty of employers to report to the College firings, resignations or the assignment 
  of teachers to restricted duties because of allegations of sexual abuse
• imposing fines up to $25,000 on employers who break reporting rules.

The bill will also involve changes to the Education Act, the Ontario College of Teachers Act and the Teaching Profession Act. The change to the Teaching Profession Act would make clear that teachers who suspect a colleague is engaged in sexual abuse of a student must report the abuse and don’t have to inform the colleague.

The College highlighted its consultation on the Robins’ report in the March issue of Professionally Speaking, available online at www.oct.ca/english/ps/march_2001/sexlmiscon&teach.htm. The College’s recommendations to the Minister of Education are available at www.oct.ca/ps/english/june_2001/blue1.asp and the College’s brief to the standing committee examining Bill 101 is at Brief to Standing Committee on Justice and Social Policy
Re: Bill 101, Student Protection Act
.


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