B.C. teacher suspended for allowing 'extremely inappropriate' behaviour among students

A B.C. teacher who condoned "extremely inappropriate" behaviour among students on school grounds has been suspended.

A broad description of the teacher's misconduct – and details on the resulting punishment – are included in a summary of a consent agreement that was published this week by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

"The teacher permitted their class to engage in extremely inappropriate conduct involving other students in the school," the document reads.

But the summary does not provide any specifics, including the name of the teacher involved, which school district they were working for at the time, or when the incident took place.

Teacher consent agreements are normally published online in full, but B.C.'s Teachers Act allows for some to be summarized instead, with key details withheld, if doing so is determined to be in the best interests of students.

In this case, according to the summary, the "more concerning details of the teacher's conduct" were left out to "further protect the identity of the students involved and to avoid further harm to them."

After the incident, the school district suspended the teacher for three days without pay and required them to complete a course called "Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries" through the Justice Institute.

After the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation reviewed the circumstances, the teacher was suspended for another two days.

In determining the appropriate punishment, the commissioner weighed the teacher's failure to "model appropriate behaviour expected of an educator" as a fact, according to the consent agreement summary.