Latest news with #CommissionerForTeacherRegulation
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Sexual assault conviction gets B.C. teacher 10-year ban from profession
A empty hallway is seen at a school in this Sept. 5, 2014 file photo. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS) A B.C. high school teacher who was convicted of sexual assault has lost his licence and been banned from applying for reinstatement for 10 years, according to the professional regulator. Shay Bernard Crawford entered into a consent agreement with B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last month, and the document was posted online Tuesday. The teacher was charged with one count of sexual assault in 2021 and suspended indefinitely roughly a month later after he informed the teacher regulation branch that he had been charged with a crime, the agreement said. 'He did not provide further information about the charge,' according to the document. In 2023, Crawford was handed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, and one year of probation, the agreement said. 'The trial judge stated in the reasons for sentence that Crawford's 'moral culpability' and blameworthiness are indeed high,' that he was 'not genuinely remorseful,' and that he made statements that blamed the victim for his offence,' according to the document. An appeal of his conviction in 2025 was unsuccessful. The commissioner cited several factors explaining why a licence cancellation and 10-year ban were imposed. 'Sexual assault is a serious matter that deprives another person of their bodily integrity,' the document said. 'Crawford is presently not a person of good moral character and otherwise fit and proper to work as a teacher in a position of trust and authority.'
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
B.C. teacher convicted of sexual assault banned from profession for 10 years
A empty hallway is seen at a school in this Sept. 5, 2014 file photo. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS) A B.C. high school teacher who was convicted of sexual assault has lost his licence and been banned from applying for reinstatement for 10 years, according to the professional regulator. Shay Bernard Crawford entered into a consent agreement with B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last month, and the document was posted online Tuesday. The teacher was charged with one count of sexual assault in 2021 and suspended indefinitely roughly a month later after he informed the teacher regulation branch that he had been charged with a crime, the agreement said. 'He did not provide further information about the charge,' according to the document. In 2023, Crawford was handed a conditional sentence of two years less a day, and one year of probation, the agreement said. 'The trial judge stated in the reasons for sentence that Crawford's 'moral culpability' and blameworthiness are indeed high,' that he was 'not genuinely remorseful,' and that he made statements that blamed the victim for his offence,' according to the document. An appeal of his conviction in 2025 was unsuccessful. The commissioner cited several factors explaining why a licence cancellation and 10-year ban were imposed. 'Sexual assault is a serious matter that deprives another person of their bodily integrity,' the document said. 'Crawford is presently not a person of good moral character and otherwise fit and proper to work as a teacher in a position of trust and authority.'
CTV News
12-07-2025
- CTV News
B.C. teacher suspended for swearing at student, failing to maintain professional boundaries
A Surrey high school teacher has received a two-day suspension for a pair of cases of misconduct identified by B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. Hussan Ali Riasat entered a consent resolution agreement with the commissioner last month, and a copy of the agreement was published online this week. The document describes two separate investigations the commissioner conducted after receiving referrals from the Surrey School District. The friend group conflict The first matter involved Riasat's efforts to resolve a conflict within a friend group of Grade 10 students in May and June 2021. According to the consent agreement, the conflict centred around the relationship between a student identified only as 'Student A' and the rest of the group. Two other students – referred to as 'Student B' and 'Student C' – asked Riasat, who was their English teacher, to help them resolve the conflict. The teacher met with the students individually and in groups in an effort to mediate the conflict, but the consent agreement indicates he 'failed to maintain appropriate boundaries between himself and the students' while doing so. His misconduct included 'sharing details about his personal life with them, writing them overly familiar and inappropriate messages and leaving an inappropriate voice message for Student B and Student C,' according to the document. The consent agreement quotes extensively from this voice message, including an instance where Riasat said the following: 'Both of those things you are doing right there, accusing me of picking favourites and then telling me I am not validating your feelings is a guilt trip. That's basically what is happening right now. And the only reason why you are saying that is because I am not actively participating in hating on [Student A] or her behaviour because I am being impartial because I am not picking sides.' Riasat concluded that Students B and C were bullying Student A, and took action to inform school administration and other students of this belief. In one case, Riasat told the president of a school club – a student referred to as 'Student E' – that Student B was a bully and that Student E 'might want to look into that,' according to the consent agreement. 'Riasat also told Student E that Student E could not tell anyone that he was the source of this information,' the document reads. 'As a result of this conversation, Student B was removed from the club.' For this and other conduct related to the friend group conflict, the school district issued Riasat a letter of discipline and suspended him for five days without pay in October 2023. It also referred the matter to the commissioner at that time. The swearing incident The second matter addressed in the consent agreement occurred in May and June 2024. 'On May 21, 2024, Riasat walked past some students in the hallway at the school,' the document reads. 'A student said something about someone being bald. Riasat turned around and said: 'What the f*** did you just say to me?.'' The target of Riasat's anger, a Grade 9 student, responded by asking, 'Who the f*** are you talking to?' To which Riasat replied, 'You.' 'Riasat then said: 'F*** you, b****' and gave the students the middle finger as he walked away,' the consent agreement reads. Unrelated to the profanity-laced interaction, the document also describes Riasat invigilating an exam for a student in a Starbucks while he was on medical leave in June 2024. 'When invigilating the exam, Riasat had logged in using a personal device and not a district-issued device,' the consent agreement reads. 'Under district policy, (Surrey Academy of Integrated Learning) exams must be completed on district-issued devices and must also be written and invigilated at a school site.' Riasat resigned from the school district a few days later, according to the document. Commissioner discipline In the consent agreement, Riasat acknowledged that his behaviour constituted professional misconduct and agreed to a two-day suspension of his teaching certificate. He also agreed to complete the course 'Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries' through the Justice Institute of British Columbia by Sept. 5. If he fails to complete the course by that date, he can request an extension, but if the extension is not granted or an extended deadline is not met, the commissioner can suspend his certificate until the course is complete. In determining that these were appropriate discipline measures for Riasat's misconduct, the commissioner considered several factors, including the teacher's 'repeated lack of understanding of appropriate professional boundaries' and his repeated failure 'to role model appropriate behaviour' and 'treat students with acceptance, dignity and respect.' The commissioner also noted that working when he had called in sick and violating district policy on exam administration undermines the public's confidence in the teaching profession and the public education system. Riasat 'accepted responsibility and was apologetic for his actions in (the friend group conflict),' according to the document.
CTV News
09-07-2025
- CTV News
‘Not a pedophile': B.C. teacher suspended for one day for touching students in gym class
The floor of a school gymnasium is seen in this stock image. (Credit: Shutterstock) A teacher in B.C.'s Interior who 'periodically' touched students during fitness class has been handed a one-day suspension by the regulatory body. Todd Erin Graham entered a consent agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last month in which he admitted to professional misconduct. The decision was posted publicly online Wednesday. The commissioner says while teaching a fitness and conditioning class called Human Performance 12 between September and December 2022, Grahm separated the girls from the boys for a meeting. 'In that meeting, Graham told the girls that he was 'not a pedophile' but that he might have to 'grab them' to show them proper form or to spot them,' the decision reads. 'Graham then told them that he had no attraction to them as he was 62 and they were 15. The students reported feeling uncomfortable following this meeting.' The commissioner says Graham would 'periodically' touch students during exercises, which some female students reported feeling uncomfortable about, and gave three examples. In one instance, the teacher touched the side of a student's chest while she was doing a bench press and asked, 'can you feel that?'. In another, he pushed a student's hips while she did squats, according to the document. In a third incident Graham complimented a student's legs while she was using the leg press machine, a remark she reported feeling uncomfortable with. The school district issued a letter of discipline and required Graham to attend a boundaries course as a result. The consent agreement also addressed comments Graham made in 2022 and 2023. In one incident, Graham singled out a 'diverse learner' in front of the class and described them using an 'unflattering term,' the regulator says. He also singled out an Indigenous student 'in a manner which was demeaning to (the student) specifically and to Indigenous peoples generally.' For those comments, the district issued a disciplinary letter and required him to complete a course on reconciliation. As a result of its investigation, the commissioner suspended Graham's teaching qualification for one day, and required he take the course Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries at the Justice Institute of B.C. by September. Factors considered in the decision, the regulator says, included that the teacher failed to create a positive learning environment, adversely impacted students, failed to respect appropriate boundaries, and harmed First Nations students in a way that did not contribute to truth and reconciliation.
CTV News
24-06-2025
- CTV News
B.C. teacher suspended over comments on ‘physical appearance' of students
An inclusion teacher in B.C.'s Fraser Valley has been suspended over comments he made about the 'physical appearance' of students. Robert Luke Acheson was working at a Chilliwack high school when the incidents took place during the 2022-23 school year, according to a consent agreement he signed with B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation. Inclusion teachers support students with diverse needs, and the agreement notes that Acheson had a 'caseload of students identified as vulnerable' in his role. According to the document, Acheson made comments to students about their physical appearance – and the physical appearance of one of his colleagues – on 'several occasions' that year. He also shared two personal anecdotes with students that 'included inappropriate content of a sexual nature.' The consent agreement does not provide specific details on the teacher's remarks, but indicates the district disciplined Acheson at the time by barring him from taking any 'assignments that worked with vulnerable students.' He was also suspended 15 days without pay in June 2023, and ordered to complete a course on professional boundaries. B.C.'s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation ordered a follow-up investigation later that year, and decided to issue an additional one-day suspension of Acheson's teaching certificate.
