Dispute Resolution

The College uses Dispute Resolution (DR) to help resolve complaints regarding members of the profession. DR is voluntary and without prejudice to the parties. The outcomes of the process are similar to those that would be expected following a full investigation and/or contested hearing.

Summaries of the cases reported here are based on facts derived from agreements signed by the College Registrar and the member, which are ratifed by the Investigation Committee. Publication is a provision of the agreements.

Member: Barbara Mary Fehler
Registration number: 238901
Decision: Suspended

The Investigation Committee ratified an agreement that prevents a Thames Valley DSB principal from working in a publicly funded school system following an investigation into allegations that she violated EQAO protocols.

Barbara Mary Fehler resigned from the board after it was revealed that she had coached students to ensure that they gave correct answers during the 2006 Grade 6 assessment.

Fehler has agreed not to seek or engage in employment requiring Certificates of Qualification and Registration until December 18, 2010.

Member: Not identified
Decision: Admonished with conditions

The Investigation Committee ratified an agreement between the College Registrar and a member, resulting in the member’s admonishment for pulling ears and hair and using harsh tones to discipline students. The elementary teacher with the Toronto DSB agreed to undertake classroom management training within three months.

Member: Not identified
Decision: Caution

The Investigation Committee issued a written caution to a teacher for taking an unauthorized two-week leave of absence.

The Toronto DSB secondary school teacher travelled to attend an event outside the country after the board’s employee services department rejected his request for a leave, which his principal initially approved. The member left despite being told by the principal that the request had been denied. As a result, the board suspended the member for 20 days without pay and gave him a letter of reprimand.

Member: Not identified
Decision: Caution with conditions

The Investigation Committee cautioned an occasional teacher who inappropriately carried his passion for religion into the “secular and diverse” public school environment.

During occasional teaching assignments at four different Toronto DSB schools, the member questioned students’ religious beliefs, engaged in non-curricular discussions about religion and commented on female students’ personal attire, making them uncomfortable. He also allowed students in who were not part of the class and handed out business cards to students encouraging them to contact him in his role as a youth pastor. The behaviour continued despite warnings from the board and led to the termination of the member’s employment in 2008.

The committee ratified an agreement between the Registrar and the member in which the member received a written caution and agreed to complete a course in the ethics of teaching, at his own expense, within four months of the decision.

Member: Not identified
Decision: Admonished with conditions

The Investigation Committee admonished a teacher for locking students outside her portable without coats and refusing to let a student go to the washroom, resulting in her wetting herself. The teacher’s actions resulted in feelings of distress, pressure and fear among the students.

Upon ratifying an agreement between the Registrar and the Peel DSB occasional teacher, the committee admonished the member in writing. The member also agreed to complete a course in classroom management strategies, at her own expense, within three months of the date of the decision.

Member: Not identified
Decision: Caution, conditions

The Investigation Committee cautioned a principal who asked a 12-year-old female student to bend over while she checked the length of her skirt to ensure that her underwear couldn’t be seen.

The independent school principal acknowledged that while developing a formal policy on uniform skirt length she had asked a student to bend over in an alcove off a hallway to determine if her underwear showed. The student complied but felt uncomfortable and embarrassed as a result. The member admitted her error in judgment and expressed regret. Although the girl’s parents filed a complaint with police, no criminal charges were laid.

The committee ratified an agreement between the College and the member in which the member received a written caution and agreed to complete a course in ethical boundaries, at her own expense, within 90 days of the decision.

When the Discipline Committee finds a member guilty of professional misconduct, the member’s name may be published in Professionally Speaking. If a similar matter is disposed of by the Investigation Committee or DR at the investigation stage, and the result is a caution, the name of the member is not published. The College monitors compliance with all agreements reached through DR.