Q: It has come to my
attention that I must renew my membership in order to keep my teaching certification
valid. Will I be invoiced? When is the deadline?
A: Payroll deductions for teachers who are employed by
publicly-funded boards and private schools where teachers contribute to the Ontario
Teachers’ Pension Plan started in January 1999. For teachers not covered by the
payroll deduction, invoices were mailed out by the College in mid-February. The deadline
for renewing your 1999 membership was April 15th. If you didn’t pay by that date,
your membership in the College would be suspended for non-payment of fees and you would no
longer be certified to teach in Ontario’s publicly-funded schools.
Q: When I received my 1999 Certificate of Qualification, it had
a tax receipt at the bottom, but I can’t use it until next year. Why don’t you
wait and send me the receipt at tax time next year?
A: Like many other organizations, the College sends tax
receipts when we receive payment – in other words, the receipt you received with your
1999 certificate is for your 1999 taxes. You should file it with other receipts so
you’ll have it on hand when you do your taxes early next year. It would be quite
costly for the College to print and mail separate receipts next year for all of our
170,000 members.
Q: I paid my 1999 membership fee by payroll deduction, but
I’m going on a leave of absence next year. How will I pay my fee?
A: The College will invoice you. Please make sure that you
provide us with any change of address.
Q: I have completed an Additional Qualification course and I am
wondering what category this places me in.
A: The College is not involved in issues relating to salary
categories. For that information, you need to contact the Qualifications Evaluation
Council of Ontario (QECO) at (416) 323-1969 or 1-800-385-1030, unless you work in the
public secondary system, in which case you should contact the Ontario Secondary School
Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF Certification) at (416) 751-8800 or 1-800-267-7277.
Q: My spouse called to get information about the status of my
file and College staff wouldn’t provide the information. Why won’t the College
provide information about a member to anyone other than the member?
A: College staff are bound by a requirement in the Ontario
College of Teachers Act to maintain confidentiality in all matters relating to members.
Information about a member can be provided only to the member. It may be provided to his
or her counsel, or to another person only if the member consents, in writing, to the
release of the information or if the information is part of the public information on the
College’s register of members.
This public information includes the member’s name, registration number,
information about the type of certificate held by the member, the member’s degree(s),
program of professional education, Basic and Additional Qualifications, terms or
conditions placed on the certificate and a notation of any revocation, cancellation or
suspension. Any finding of professional misconduct or incompetence would also appear.
If a spouse, or anyone else, calls to ask about information other than that listed
above or to inquire about the status of an application, College staff will not release the
information.
