Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Introduces Bill to Protect Students
Date: September 19, 2013
On September 18, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 103, Protecting Students Act, 2013.
If passed, Bill 103 would amend the Ontario College of Teachers Act, 1996 (“Act”) and would, among other things:
- add definitions of “professional misconduct’ and “sexual misconduct” to the Act
- establish an investigation stage complaint resolution process and a disciplinary stage complaint resolution process
- require the Discipline Committee of the College to automatically revoke a member’s certificate where he or she has been found guilty of professional misconduct, which includes specified acts of sexual abuse of a student and acts involving child pornography. An application for, or issuance of, a new certificate to a person whose certificate was revoked for these reasons would be prohibited for five years from the date of revocation
- ensure that a disciplinary panel of a committee reviewing the actions or conduct of a principal or vice-principal includes a principal or vice-principal who is or was employed in that capacity and who is a member of the College
- require a designated person or body to report to the College where that person or body suspects on reasonable grounds that there is a risk that a person is likely to suffer harm by a member and believes that disclosure is urgently needed
- require the College to publish decisions of the Discipline Committee on its website
- require an employer which submits a report to the College in cases where a member’s employment has been terminated or restricted to provide that report to the member and to provide other related information regarding a member’s professional misconduct to the College.
