HomeMy WebLinkAboutSexually touching a student will now cost Ontario teachers their jobs - Toronto Star - 05/08/2018 - Toronto Star - 05/08/20185/9/2018 Sexually touching a student will now cost Ontario teachers their jobs I The Star
distributionThis copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation -ready copies of
Toronto Star content for giabout
touchingpermissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com
Sexually a student will now
cost Ontario teachers their jobs
Province rrevoke
found- Bill 31.
Education- Indira rl•r • pledged r makechanges to
amend - province's definition of - .. abuse by -. -
https://www.thestar. com/news/gta/2018/05/08/sexually-touching-a-student-will-now-cost-ontario-teachers-their-jobs.htm1 1/4
5/9/2018 Sexually touching a student will now cost Ontario teachers their jobs I The Star
HIF, N 3 1 "A R
By VJOSA ISAI Staff Reporter
VICTORIA GIBSON Staff Reporter
Tues., May 8, 2o18
Teachers will have their licences automatically revoked if found ..
..
ug students, following a Toronto Star investigation into transfers of
abusive teachers from school to school.
This will also apply retroactively to any historical cases after amendments the Ontario
College of Teachers Act were enacted Tuesday following a promise from the province in
January to crack down on sexually abusive teachers.
Students who were victimized by sexually abusive teachers will also be eligible for new
funding to access therapy and counselling, administered by the Ontario College of
Teachers, the provincial oversight and licensing body.
One wrong just creates another wrong: how the quiet transfer of teachers over
disciplinary issues has led to a pattern of abuse in schools
Teachers who commit certain forms of sexual abuse allowed to keep their licences
"Today our government passed legislation to strengthen the disciplinary actions for
teachers and early childhood educators, aligning them with regimens for health
professionals," said a statement prepared on behalf of the Ministry of Education. "This
will hd% ensure that thef-coli"O, further has the tools the®r need to resyond to cases of
professional misconduct and make sure student safety is prioritized."
Under the Protecting Students Act, a 2o16 amendment to the Ontario College of
Teachers Act and the Early Childhood Educators Act, if a teacher engages in intercourse,
masturbation, child pornography or any of the following contacts — genital -to -genital,
genital -to -oral, anal -to -genital, and oral -to -anal — their licence must be revoked.
As a result of Tuesday's amendments, teachers who touch a student's genitals, anus,
breasts or buttocks, or other conduct of a sexual nature, will now be subject to automatic
licence revocation as well.
https://www.thestar. co m/news/gta/201 8/0 5/08/sex ua I I y -to uch i ng-a-stu de nt-wi I I -now-cost-o nta rio-teache rs-the i r -j obs. htm 1 2/4
5/9/2018 Sexually touching a student will now cost Ontario teachers their jobs I The Star
0 Me I W
Any other findings of sexual abuse that don't result in revocation will now carry a
mandatory suspension of the teacher's licence. The discipline committee at the college
will also be able to immediately suspend a teacher facing revocation before
xtheir hearing,
if that teacher "exposes or is likely to epose students to harm or injury," the ministry
confirmed.
The Star's investigation has detailed how teachers in the province can be transferred to
another school after their boards find reason to discipline them. In some of the
province's largest school boards, there is no requirement to tell a new principal about
the incoming teacher's past.
The Star identified 27 cases heard by the Ontario College of Teachers, the provincial
oversight and licensing body, between January 2o12 and November 2017. In each case,
the teacher had been investigated by their school board, discned and transferred at
lKast once by the time their case made it to a college hearing.
In all of the cases, the college's discnary panel — made up of publicly appointed and
teacher -elected college members — substantiated allegations of sexual, physical,
psychological or verbal abuse, or serious misconduct by those teachers. In nine of the 27
cases identified, the teachers had reoffended at their new school.
Alberta clefence, lawyers, say stri�kie action on the table if
p rov I nce won 4161 f ix legal aid
https://www.thestar. co m/news/gta/201 8/0 5/08/sex ua I I y -to uch i ng-a-stu de nt-wi I I -now-cost-o nta rio-teache rs-the i r -j obs. htm 1 3/4
5/9/2018 Sexually touching a student will now cost Ontario teachers their jobs I The Star
e -I
Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved.
Kepublication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written
consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto
Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com
https://www.thestar. co m/news/gta/201 8/0 5/08/sex ua I I y -to uch i ng-a-stu de nt-wi I I -now-cost-o nta rio-teache rs-the i r -j obs. htm 1 4/4