B.C. teachers disciplined for broad range of misdeeds

A high school teacher who sent sexually suggestive phone texts to his teenage babysitter and another teacher who put masking tape across the mouth of a talkative student are among those who have been disciplined for their behaviour, according to B.C.'s new Teacher Regulation Branch.

The disciplinary decisions were made by the now-defunct B.C. College of Teachers, the body which regulated the profession before the Ministry of Education set up the new branch.

The new branch has yet to hold any disciplinary hearings of its own, but has posted details of 11 cases resolved prior to the dissolution of the college in January.

The new cases involved a range of complaints, including:

• A high school social studies and physical education teacher ordered to take a "Respecting the Boundaries" workshop after sending flirtatious texts to his 16-year-old babysitter, such as "I'm feeling a little [naughty]; what can I do?"
• A Surrey high school teacher who placed masking tape over the mouth of a student in an effort to force them to stop talking.
• A high school teacher who told a student with an open wound he was "spreading AIDS."
• An elementary school teacher who pressured Grade 6 girls to slow dance with boys at a school dance and then used physical force to remove a girl who refused, and then told her and her friend their attitudes "sucked."
• A middle school teacher who implemented a new seating arrangement in science class in which students were assigned seats according to their height.
• A secondary school teacher who took a Mexican vacation during time when the school administration believed he was attending a professional development conference in Nevada.
• A teacher who booked a trip without prior approval and then told two colleagues she intended to use sick time to go on vacation, and later claimed to have been coughing blood.

Most of the cases involved reprimands for the teachers involved, although some resulted in suspensions.

A ministry spokesman says the new Teacher Regulation Branch will use a revised disciplinary process that will involve three-member panels drawn from a pool of nine disciplinary council members.

The ministry says the council members are undergoing training this summer and don't expect to hold any new disciplinary hearings until fall.