Question: I have heard that teachers can be “flagged” by the Registrar on the teacher registry. What does that mean?
Answer: Most teachers will remain happily unaware of their professional status until a job application, renewal of interim certification, change in position or move to another jurisdiction suddenly becomes more complicated. That “complication” may be a “flag” on the teacher’s file, at which point they may find themselves embarking on a Kafkaesque adventure into the bureaucracy.
A “flag” is not the same thing as the report of a finding of unprofessional conduct posted on the registry. Rather, a flag is an annotation on a teacher’s certification file held by the Registrar at Alberta Education that indicates that a potential concern has been identified. Flags are most commonly placed on a teacher’s file when a complaint about the teacher has been received by the Registrar. Not all complaints will result in a file being flagged; instead, the practice is limited to those instances where the Registrar has determined that the nature of the complaint raises potential concern that warrants alerting school authorities, particularly if the teacher seeks to change employment.
Teachers may review their status on Alberta’s Teacher and Teacher Leader Registry, the government’s public site that displays a teacher’s professional standing, certificate details and certain disciplinary outcomes; and the Teacher Workforce Information System (TWINS), which contains personal employment and certification information. However, these platforms do not indicate to the public or the teacher whether a file has been flagged or not. Flags are visible through the TWINS Teacher Authority Validation portal, which is exclusively available to school division human resources personnel and can therefore have an impact on a teacher’s employment prospects.
At present, the only way a teacher can determine whether their file has been flagged is by contacting the Registrar. A statement of professional standing, which can be ordered for a $25 fee, may also show a flag.
Based on recent discussions with the Registrar, the ATA understands that flagging is not intended for every complaint or minor conduct matter. Rather, it is generally reserved for serious duty-to-report situations, such as criminal charges or matters involving potential harm to children or others. The decision rests solely with the Registrar.
While this may appear reasonable from a public policy perspective, the difficulty for teachers is twofold: first, as things currently stand, a teacher will not be made proactively aware that their file has been flagged and so may stumble into difficulty. Second, the flag may be put into place before the teacher has had a proper opportunity to defend themselves and potentially be cleared by the commissioner’s excruciatingly slow investigation process.
The presence of a flag on a teacher’s file will prompt school division human resources staff to contact the Registrar, who may then discuss with them the circumstances that led to the flag. This can result in misunderstandings, delays in hiring, impacts on labour mobility and significant uncertainty. Some prospective employers, taking the path of least resistance and minimizing potential risks, will simply use the presence of the flag to rule out even considering a teacher’s application for a position on the principle that where there is smoke, there must be fire. The ATA is aware of an admittedly small number of cases when allegations against a teacher have been completely debunked by the employer, the police and/or the court but, as the commissioner has still not rendered a disposition, the flagged teacher has been rendered unemployable for months and even years.
It is worth noting that if you do wind up being flagged, the flags are not necessarily permanent, particularly in cases involving minor breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct. However, there is currently no formal policy outlining their duration or removal. Because flags are generally intended for the most serious cases, the Registrar determined that they may only be removed at the conclusion of the government’s disciplinary processes.
As part of its routine advocacy and representation work, the ATA has raised concerns directly with the Registrar in cases where flags appeared to have been applied in circumstances that did not justify them. In some instances, ATA staff have been able to have flags removed.
If a teacher suspects that a flag may be affecting their certification or employment changes, they are encouraged to contact the ATA. Staff working in the Regulatory Affairs office may be able to work with the Registrar and/or the employer to resolve the situation.
Questions for consideration in this column are welcome. Please address them to Dennis Theobald at dennis.theobald@ata.ab.ca.
ATA Executive Secretary
