InvestigationsThe College is required by legislation to investigate and consider complaints about members that relate to alleged professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity. If the Investigation Committee concludes that a complaint does not relate to one of those three matters or is frivolous, vexatious or an abuse of process, it does not proceed with the complaint. Approximately four out of five complaints are not referred to the Discipline Committee but are dismissed or resolved by other means. Examples of cases considered by the Investigation Committee and not referred to a hearing are provided here. Case #1Complaint: Emotional, verbal and physical abuse and unfair treatment
of student A senior student complained to the College about his teacher's behaviour after an incident involving the student and some of his classmates. According to the complainant, after telling the students to stop misbehaving, the teacher told the complainant and one of his friends to "go to the office, punk." The complainant alleged that the teacher blocked the doorway and "chest-bumped" him and punched the wall in anger. The complainant's parent contacted the school but the issues were not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant and his parent. The teacher admitted punching the wall "in extreme frustration" at the complainant's behaviour but denied calling the student a "punk" or deliberately bumping chests with him although he acknowledged that some contact may have occurred. A panel of the Investigation Committee considered the complaint and decided
that allegations such as the chest-bumping and name-calling would not
amount to professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity. Case #2Complaint: Teacher cut braided hair ornament from head of a Grade
1 student and was charged with assault A board of education reported to the College that one of its teachers had been charged with assault under the Criminal Code of Canada after an incident in the teacher's Grade 1 classroom. After repeatedly asking a student to stop playing with a braided hair ornament the teacher cut the ornament and a 1/4-inch lock of hair from the student's head. The student's parent reported the matter to the police, who subsequently charged the teacher with assault. The board advised the College that it had removed the teacher from the classroom. A panel of the Investigation Committee considered the complaint and directed that the member be admonished, in writing, for cutting the braided ornament from the student's hair in contravention of board policy. The committee considered the fact that the member had been disciplined
by the board and admonished the member to adhere to board policies at
all times. Case #3Complaint: Inappropriate treatment of a Grade 3 ADHD (Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) student A parent of a Grade 3 student diagnosed with ADHD complained to the College about the classroom teacher's treatment of the child. The parent alleged that the teacher yelled at the student, grabbed the student by the arm and threw the student out of the classroom, belittled the student, sent the student into the hall for fidgeting in class, called the parent by telephone from the classroom and asked the parent to instruct the student to work harder, and frequently made the student work alone when group projects were involved. In response, the member said that on one occasion the student had run into the classroom. The member had escorted the student back out. However, the teacher denied belittling the student and said that most of the calls to the parent were because the student was complaining of feeling sick. Both the member and the member's principal denied that the student was omitted from group projects. Although the police interviewed the student after the parent complained, they concluded that criminal charges were not appropriate. The Investigation Committee directed that the member be cautioned about using physical contact with students as a means of discipline, except in circumstances where there is a risk of harm to that student or other individuals. The member was also reminded of the need to report any incidents of physical contact to the school administration as soon as possible. In respect to the other allegations, the committee stated that the actions
taken by the member were not inappropriate in the circumstances. Case #4Complaint: Inappropriate comments to and a lack of appreciation
of the requirements of a Down's Syndrome student The parent of a Grade 3 student with Down's Syndrome complained that the child's classroom teacher failed to appreciate the needs and nature of children with this condition and said and did inappropriate things to that student. Among the allegations made by the parent were that the teacher failed to ensure that the student was taken to the bathroom every day before recess, pulled a chair from under the student, wrote negative comments on the student's work, assigned homework that was too difficult for the student to read, failed to give the student enough time to digest instructions, and inappropriately punished the student by moving the student's desk to the corner of the classroom facing the wall. The parent requested a 13-month hiatus in the consideration of the complaint while she pursued the matter through the Ontario Human Rights Commission and then notified the College that the complaint should proceed. The complaint was considered by a panel of the Investigation Committee, which concluded that none of the allegations with the exception of the chair-pulling incident related to professional misconduct. In respect to the chair-pulling incident the complainant provided the College with an account of the incident by an independent observer, which did not confirm that the health and welfare of the student were endangered. The Investigation Committee therefore refused to investigate the complaint.
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