Three-member panels of the Discipline Committee conduct public hearings into cases of alleged incompetence or professional misconduct. The panels are a mix of elected and appointed Council members.
If found guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence, a member’s certificates may be revoked, suspended or limited. In cases of professional misconduct only, the committee may also reprimand, admonish or counsel the member, impose a fine, publish its order in Professionally Speaking, or order the member to pay costs.
Panels of the Discipline Committee have ordered summaries of these recent disciplinary cases to be published in Professionally Speaking. Copies of full decisions are available through library@oct.ca. Hearings regarding incapacity are closed.
Hearings
Member: Unidentified
Decision: Admonishment, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel admonished a Toronto Catholic DSB elementary school teacher for scaring female students during a residential outdoor education trip.
The member, who joined the teaching profession in June 1990, attended the December 16, 2010 hearing with legal counsel.
In March 2006, while chaperoning Grade 6 students on a three-day outdoor education trip, the member posted two drawings and accompanying limericks on the girls’ dormitory window. Earlier that day, the member and a number of students had played a game of “predator” and “prey.” Believing his drawings to be a continuation of the game, the member depicted and referred to the death of one of the girls in the room. Upon discovering the images and verses, the girls, frightened and disturbed, screamed, thereby attracting the attention of a female teacher also on the trip. The female teacher removed the postings and tried to calm the girls. The member admitted to posting the drawings, said that his only intent was to entertain and amuse the students, and acknowledged that his conduct was inappropriate and lacked judgment. Consequently, he received a letter of reprimand from the board and was suspended for a week without pay.
Having considered the evidence, a plea of guilty, an agreed statement of facts, a joint submission on penalty and the submissions of counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct. He was ordered to appear before the panel for an admonishment following the hearing. As well, he was directed to complete, at his own expense, a course on boundary violations and the student-teacher relationship within 60 days of the date of the order.
A notation regarding the admonishment and conditions appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Member: Jon Anthony Deveth
Registration number: 128390
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered that Chippewas of Rama Mnjikaning First Nation principal Jon Anthony Deveth face a reprimand for writing and distributing flyers with offensive content to teachers. Deveth became a teacher in June 1974. He attended the October 13, 2010 hearing, acting on his own behalf.
The panel heard evidence that between September 2007 and May 2008 Deveth published a weekly newsletter called Friday Flyers containing school announcements. The panel reviewed newsletter content that included staff and student names in jokes, some of which were of a sexual nature or referred to drugs or alcohol.
The flyer also included jokes and comments about students with behavioural disabilities, staff meetings and functions with regard to the use of drugs and alcohol, female anatomy, derogatory jokes about wives, jokes that denigrated harassment and discrimination training, and inappropriate comments about terrorism, learning disabilities, mental health, capital punishment and transvestites.
Communicating this type of information once to the staff would be significant enough in itself to constitute professional misconduct, the panel said. “In this instance, the member communicated in this manner on an ongoing basis weekly through 23 weeks of the school year. The committee finds, and members of the teaching community should find, such comments to be a breach of the standards and to be unprofessional and unbecoming a member. Members should and would recognize the damage these types of communication have on a community.”
Having considered the evidence, the onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of College counsel and the member, the Discipline Committee panel found Deveth guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that he face a reprimand. He was also ordered to complete a course in professional boundaries and boundary violation issues at his own expense and advise the Registrar in writing 60 days in advance of returning to work requiring an Ontario teaching certificate.
A notation regarding the reprimand and conditions appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Member: Richard Donald Lorne Burdett
Registration number: 202006
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered that Toronto DSB secondary school teacher Richard Donald Lorne Burdett face a reprimand and have his certificate suspended for 12 months for improper electronic communication of a sexual nature with female students.
Burdett joined the teaching profession in June 1991. He attended the January 31, 2011 hearing with legal counsel.
The panel heard evidence that between February and April 2007, Burdett made inappropriate sexual suggestions to female students and made comments regarding their private relationships with their boyfriends. In one electronic exchange with a student, Burdett confessed to having had an explicit dream about her involving oral sex.
During a school trip to England, Burdett engaged in a game called “spooning” with four female students. He was clothed and the girls wore pajamas. He told one student that he would be home most of July by himself, adding, “We can throw a little spoon fest here if you want.”
In November 2007 the board suspended Burdett for 30 days without pay.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, a plea of no contest and the submissions of counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found Burdett guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Burdett’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration for 12 months beginning in February 2011. He was also ordered to face a reprimand by the panel.
The panel agreed to limit the suspension to six months if Burdett completed a course at his own expense on appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues before the end of August. Burdett must provide the Registrar with a report from a registered psychological therapist stating that he has successfully undergone treatment. Further, 30 days before returning to teach, he must provide a psychiatrist’s report to say that he poses no undue risk to students. Finally, Burdett must provide at least one Teacher Performance Appraisal to the Registrar within two years of returning to work.
“This electronic and physical contact between the member and students constitutes serious professional misconduct and conduct unbecoming a member,” the panel said. “Given the serious nature of the member’s misconduct, a lengthy suspension is warranted and serves as a specific deterrent to the member.”
A notation regarding the Suspension, reprimand, and conditions appears on the member’s certificate online at a www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Member: Jeffrey Alan Cobden
Registration number: 288096
Decision: Suspension, reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered that Toronto DSB elementary teacher Jeffrey Alan Cobden face a reprimand and have his certificate suspended for three months for inappropriately disciplining students. Cobden joined the teaching profession in June 1995. He attended the January 17, 2011 hearing with legal counsel.
In May 2002 Cobden received a verbal warning not to hit or tap students on the head with papers, books or booklets and to refrain from such actions in the future. Then, in January 2004, he hit a Grade 4 male student in the classroom, after which he took courses related to teacher effectiveness and classroom handling, anger management and cognitive development. The board suspended Cobden in November 2004 for five days without pay for the incident involving the boy.
During the 2004–05 academic year, the Toronto DSB made a complaint about Cobden’s behaviour to the Ontario College of Teachers, alleging verbal and physical abuse of students during the 2001–02 and 2003–04 school years.
In May 2005 Cobden blew a whistle loudly near a student in his drama class. That same year he demonstrated a theatrical and exaggerated spanking motion with a Grade 6 boy to the drama class. These incidents netted the member another five-day suspension without pay.
In October 2005 Cobden admitted the physical abuse of the students referred to in the complaint to the College. As a result, he received a written caution from the College’s Investigation Committee requiring that he make every reasonable effort to use appropriate classroom management strategies and to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries.
Following another incident in 2007–08, in which he tapped the shoulder of a student, the board fired him.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, a plea of no contest and the submissions of counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found Cobden guilty of professional misconduct.
The panel ordered the Registrar to suspend Cobden’s Certificate of Qualification and Registration for three months. Cobden was also ordered to face a reprimand by the panel and to complete a course in anger management at his own expense.
The panel noted that despite previous suspensions, courses and a caution by the Investigation Committee, Cobden continued to physically mistreat students. It said that the seriousness of the member’s behaviour and the ongoing pattern warranted the suspension and publication of Cobden’s name.
“The reprimand by his peers and on behalf of his profession will act to further reinforce the inappropriateness of the member’s behaviour,” the panel said. “The fact of the reprimand will remain on the member’s certificate for a period of three years and will serve as a general deterrent to the profession.”
A notation regarding the suspension, reprimand and conditions appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Member: Thomas Gerard Nevins
Registration number: 482971
Decision: Revocation
A Discipline Committee panel ordered that the Registrar revoke the teaching certificate of Toronto DSB occasional secondary school teacher Thomas Gerard Nevins for having sex with two adult females who were his former students.
Nevins, who joined the teaching profession in July 2005, was represented by lawyers at the January 17, 2011 hearing. He did not attend.
Nevins admitted that he engaged in inappropriate phone and electronic communications with the women, using e-mail, social networking sites and webcams. He exchanged inappropriate photos and made sexual comments to both. Between February and March 2008, Nevins phoned one of the women several times on her cellphone and drove her to a restaurant where he bought her lunch. Nevins began sexual relationships with both the former students immediately after they left the school where he taught.
Later that year he resigned from the board and from the College.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, a plea of no contest and the submissions of counsel, the Discipline Committee panel found Nevins guilty of professional misconduct and ordered that his Certificate of Qualification and Registration be revoked.
“The member’s conduct was at the more severe end of the scale and was a serious breach of trust,” the panel said. “Despite the fact that following these events the member submitted his resignation to the board and to the College, the member agreed that this breach of trust constitutes professional misconduct and therefore warrants revocation of his certificate.”
A notation regarding the revocation appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Member: Not identified
Decision: Reprimand, conditions
A Discipline Committee panel ordered that a Peel DSB elementary teacher face a reprimand and complete a course on boundaries following a finding of professional misconduct for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female student beginning when she was in Grade 7.
The member, who joined the teaching profession in July 1998, attended the February 17, 2011 hearing with his lawyers.
Between September 2002 and June 2003, the member used e-mails and instant messaging to write the student about parties, school events, tests and the pregnancy of his wife. His communication with the student included statements such as: “I wish I could talk to you all the time,” “Thanks for the healing kisses,” “Lots of love,” and “Can’t stop thinking about you, I didn’t want you to leave today.”
Although the member was found not guilty in Superior Court of charges of sexual assault and sexual exploitation, the judge wrote in her reasons, “Surely (the member) can see the flirty and even sexually charged context and realize how misleading these would be to an impressionable young girl.” The judge also noted that the level of chat would be seen by many as entirely inappropriate and, at a minimum, it did the student a grave disservice in her quest to become an adult.
Having heard the evidence, onus and standard of proof, and the submissions of counsel, the panel found the member guilty of professional misconduct and ordered him to appear before the panel for a reprimand. In addition, the panel ordered the member to complete a course on appropriate boundaries and boundary violation issues at his own expense.
The panel said that the reprimand serves to reinforce the necessity to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries and reminds the member to uphold the standards of the profession. The course in appropriate boundaries serves to rehabilitate and educate the member. The fact that a notation of both actions is recorded on the College’s public register serves as a specific and general deterrent, the panel said.
“The committee determined it was not necessary to publish the name of the member to act as a specific deterrent as there was no indication of prior misconduct or repetition,” the panel said. “The member has successfully reintegrated into the profession with his same board, and has received a successful Teacher Performance Appraisal. Further, the member, on his own, has already taken a course on professional boundaries and has agreed to take an additional course.”
In a minority opinion, one member of the panel argued against not naming the member in Professionally Speaking.
“Publication of the findings and order without the member’s name amounts to suppression of information and raises questions in the minds of the public regarding the transparency of the process,” the minority opinion states.
A notation regarding the reprimand and the imposed conditions appears on the member’s certificate online at www.oct.ca - Find a Teacher.
Glossary of terms
The vocabulary used to report disciplinary hearings reflects their quasi-judicial nature. For a glossary of terms, visit www.oct.ca.