B.C. teacher disciplined for taking sides in family law dispute with 'biased and unprofessional' court statement

A B.C. teacher has been reprimanded for taking sides in a family law dispute involving a student's parents.

The teacher – whose name is not published in a summary of a consent agreement posted on the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation's website Tuesday – provided a written statement about the student to one of the parents for use in legal proceedings, according to the summary. 

The teacher's name and gender, as well as the location of the school where the teacher was working, are all withheld from the summary pursuant to a section of the provincial Teachers Act intended "to protect the identity of a student who was harmed, abused or exploited by the teacher."

According to the summary, the teacher has held a professional certificate since 2005 and was working on call at an elementary school when the misconduct occurred.

The school district reported the conduct to the commissioner in November 2023.

"The teacher became involved in a dispute between parents about custody and access of their child (the student), whom the teacher had taught," the summary reads. "The teacher provided a written statement about the student to one of the parents to use in legal proceedings."

In the statement, the teacher shared information about the student that they had obtained in their role as a teacher and "made biased and unprofessional comments about the student’s parents," according to the consent agreement summary.

The summary notes that the teacher's actions "resulted in emotional harm to the student."

In the consent agreement, the teacher admitted that their behaviour constituted professional misconduct and agreed to a reprimand. They also agreed to complete the course "Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries" at the Justice Institute of B.C.

"The teacher relied on their position as a teacher to give credibility and weight to their opinions in the written statement and in doing so abused the privileged position of power and trust as a teacher," the summary reads, explaining the commissioner's reasons for determining a reprimand and remedial education were an appropriate sanction for the teacher.

"The teacher failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries by becoming drawn into a family law matter, which impaired the neutrality of the school as a safe place for students."

The teacher also failed to maintain the confidentiality of the student's personal information, the summary notes.