College Council Election to Be Conducted Electronically | Call for Nominations | New Council Members | Interest Grows for Teacher Job Fair | Bernard Adam Apppointed Chair of Discipline Committee | College Issues First Professional Advisory | Credentials Checking Process Helps Protect Profession's Integrity | Providers' Area Up and Running | Individual Learning Options Broaden PLP Credit Possibilities | Teach Ontario Site Makes Finding and Filling Teaching Jobs Easier | Teachers Holding Permanent Letters of Standing Urged to Join the College | 2003 Budget Approved with Fee Increase Offsets PLP Costs | Dispute Resolution Program Reports | Discipline Panel Decisions

Dispute Resolution Program Reports

THE College use its Dispute Resolution Program to resolve suitable complaints about members of the profession in the public interest. The program, which is voluntary and without prejudice for the participating parties, is available at all stages of the complaint process.

In the dispute resolution process, the College seeks outcomes similar in scope to those that would reasonably be expected following an investigation or hearing. In many cases this includes the publication of the member's name to ensure accountability and the protection of the public. The College monitors compliance with all agreements reached through dispute resolution.

This issue of Professionally Speaking reports on three cases that were resolved through dispute resolution.

Case 1
After receiving a report from an international private school, the College Registrar initiated a complaint against John Robert Nerby, a former teacher at the private school and a member of the College. The Registrar alleged that the member sent a series of intimate and sexually explicit e-mail messages to a female secondary student. Shortly after the messages were discovered, the school terminated the member's employment.

The member and the Registrar voluntarily entered into a Memorandum of Agreement which included the following terms:

  • acknowledgement by the member that in sending correspondence of a sexual nature to a student he committed professional misconduct
  • suspension of the member's certificate for a period of 90 days
  • an admonishment of the member by the Investigation Committee
  • completion by the member of a course of instruction regarding student-teacher boundaries
  • a notation on the public register that the member's certificate was suspended and that he acknowledged committing professional misconduct
  • publication of the member's name with a summary of the complaint and the nature of the resolution
  • College notification of the member's suspension to the education authorities routinely informed of such disciplinary action.

The Investigation Committee ratified the agreement as a satisfactory resolution of the complaint.

Case 2
The Registrar initiated a complaint against Robert Brian McClean. The complaint alleged that during the 1981-1982 school year, while teaching at an Ottawa secondary school, the member initiated an inappropriate relationship with a Grade 11 student that continued until approximately 1988. McClean denies the allegations.

The Investigation Committee ratified a Memorandum of Agreement between the member and the Registrar in which McClean agreed to:

  • resign from the College
  • accept cancellation of his certificate by the Registrar
  • not reapply to the College at any time in the future
  • not teach in any elementary, secondary, public, private or separate school
  • accept publication of his name with a summary of the complaint and the nature of the resolution
  • a notation be put on the public register that he resigned his membership in the College and that the Registrar cancelled his certificate. The notation also includes the following statement: "At the time of the resignation, a complaint against Robert Brian McClean for professional misconduct involving an inappropriate relationship with a student was under investigation."
  • College notification of the cancellation of the member's certificate to education authorities routinely informed of such disciplinary action.

Case 3
The College received a complaint from a member of the public alleging that several school and board staff had contributed to a student's suicide through a variety of actions. The alleged conduct included humiliating the student and failing to protect him from the bullying of other students.

The members and the complainant participated in mediation and reached a Memorandum of Agreement, which included the board agreeing to:

  • implement a policy regarding the response of staff to reports of bullying
  • offer professional development opportunities to staff regarding bullying
  • write to the Ministry of Education and the College recommending that the issue of student bullying be addressed in the Provincial Teacher Certification Program
  • provide all students with information regarding support resources.

The Investigation Committee ratified the agreement as a satisfactory resolution of the complaint.

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