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Risk Assessment Framework

Assessing risk in complaints about teachers

Role of the Ontario College of Teachers

The Ontario College of Teachers is the regulatory body for Ontario’s certified teachers.

Self-regulation recognizes the maturity of a profession and acknowledges its professionals can govern themselves. It means the government has delegated its regulatory authority to those who have been selected based on key competencies, experience and diversity required to do the job.

A self-regulating profession protects the public interest by setting standards of competency and conduct. It has the right and responsibility to license and, through the College’s Tribunal, discipline its members including suspending and revoking those licenses.

The College is responsible for certifying teachers who are qualified and competent, and it strives to ensure that students receive a quality education by holding members to high professional and ethical standards.

How does the College assess and address risk associated with concerns and reports received about members?

The College’s Intake Unit receives reports about College members from various sources, including other members, the police, the media, the public, members’ employers (school boards and private schools), and members themselves (i.e., self-reports). The Intake Unit then conducts a risk assessment to determine the urgency of the concern through the lens of student risk of harm or injury, so these concerns can be prioritized appropriately. Reports are triaged as follows:

  • Reports that present a significant risk to students are acted on immediately.
  • Reports from the public are assessed according to the nature of the concerns and other factors including whether the member is currently teaching, the recency of the conduct at issue, and the risk to students.
  • Employer reports about a member’s conduct are typically received after the employer has already taken corrective action themselves, which may mitigate the risk to students.
  • In cases where a member self-reports criminal charges or convictions, the College assesses risk based on the nature of the criminal charge(s) and will prioritize cases where the charge(s) involves harm to students and/or risks to students or the community.

After the Intake Unit has triaged the case and determined whether the report relates to the College’s mandate and represents a risk, it transfers the case to the Investigations Unit. Here, the College prioritizes cases that are identified as high-risk, including where allegations involve sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, child pornography, or prescribed sexual acts, or allegations of serious boundary violations.

These matters are immediately assigned to an investigator, and files are continually reassessed for risks as additional information becomes available. For instance, in cases where a member’s alleged conduct would likely expose students to harm or injury, the College may take additional steps to impose an interim suspension on a member’s certificate until the complaint has been disposed of. As part of this risk assessment, the College considers, among other things, the seriousness of the alleged conduct, the likelihood that a member might seek and obtain a new teaching position while the College investigates their conduct, and the likelihood that a member might harm or injure students before the complaint has been disposed of. This is all done with the objective of protecting students.

Cases that are identified as lower risk or where the Investigation Committee (the College’s complaint screening committee) has established an appropriate outcome in similar cases may proceed through a more expeditious complaint resolution process.

Cases that are identified as higher risk, and that would likely be referred to the Discipline Committee, are not eligible for the complaint resolution process.

When determining whether a matter is suitable for the complaint resolution process, the College first considers whether the outcome of the complaint, based on similar prior cases, would likely result in a reminder, advice, caution or admonishment. If that is the case and the allegations do not relate to sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, a prohibited act involving child pornography, and/or a prescribed sexual act, then the matter may be suitable for complaint resolution. Other factors are then considered, including:

  • specific aggravating and mitigating factors (including if it is a single incident or pattern of behaviour, the severity of the alleged conduct, the alleged impact, etc.).
  • the member’s discipline history with the College and/or their employer.
  • whether there are capacity concerns at issue (i.e., cases involving a member’s fitness to practise are not suitable for complaint resolution).
  • whether there are parallel criminal or civil proceedings involving a member (i.e., such cases are typically not suitable for complaint resolution).

Essentially, the complaint resolution process creates efficiencies by diverting appropriate cases that involve lower-end allegations with predictable outcomes from the more resource intensive Investigation stream, so long as the College and the member involved agree to proceed through this process. This allows the Investigations Unit and the Investigation Committee to focus their efforts on more complex and higher risk matters.

Consult the Risk Assessment Flowchart.

101 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M5S 0A1

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Telephone: 416.961.8800

Toll-Free (Canada and U.S.A.): 1.888.534.2222

info@oct.ca

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