A British Columbia teacher has been suspended and transferred to a new school after causing “emotional harm” to students who'd become "attached."
The teacher “did not take steps to address the level of attachment” the students had formed, the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation said in a report published this week.
Because the students were “harmed, abused or exploited” by the teacher, no details that could identify them have been published. That includes the teacher’s name, sex and place of work.
According to the Commissioner, the teacher was employed as a counsellor for vulnerable students at a school in the province when the incidents occurred.
“The teacher spent a significant amount of time with the students who grew increasingly attached to the teacher and saw the teacher almost daily, often on an informal basis when they should otherwise have been in classes,” the report says.
“The school principal had conversations with the teacher about the students needing to go back to class.
“The teacher did not take steps to address the level of attachment the students had developed.”
Over a period of around seven months, the teacher exchanged text messages with the students, including at night.
This happened without the knowledge of the students’ parents, the report says.
“At one point, the teacher directed one of the students to delete the text messages which they had exchanged,” it explains.
On one occasion, a student told the teacher they “might harm themselves,” but the teacher failed to take “appropriate reporting steps.”
The teacher was disciplined by the school district in September 2022. That included being suspended for nine days without pay and transferred to another school, as well as being told to attend a workshop on boundaries.
The teacher was also told they could not re-apply for a position at the school.
Separately, the Commissioner suspended the teacher’s professional certificate for two weeks and told them to complete a course on boundaries.
“The teacher failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with the students, causing them emotional harm,” the Commissioner said.
“The teacher failed to take appropriate reporting steps when one of the students disclosed a risk of self-harm.”
