Pitfalls and Precautions is a series that aims to educate teachers on professional conduct issues by highlighting situations addressed by the ATA Professional Conduct Committee.
Too often, members of the public and of the teaching profession express the belief that the Alberta Teachers’ Association protects bad teachers. This is untrue. Over the last few months alone, in the course of completing its remaining cases as oversight of teacher discipline transitions to the provincial government, the Association has issued suspensions, cancellations, hefty fines and severe letters of reprimand. Under the new teacher discipline process that the government has created, the Association is now prepared to work with teachers to ensure that members are afforded due process and procedural fairness.
If by chance you have a complaint filed against you through the province’s new registrar’s office, you will be contacted by the Alberta Teaching Profession Commission by email with a notice that a complaint has been received. You will also receive an email or phone call from a professional assurance officer, who will set up a time to meet so that they may conduct a preliminary inquiry into the allegations. The moment you receive notice that there are allegations against you, you should reach out to the Association’s new regulatory affairs and membership support (RAMS) branch, which will assist you with your initial intake.
The ATA has three staff members who are ready to assist with this initial intake and gather all your required information. After that, you will work with one of three highly qualified and experienced staff officers, who will assist you with your initial meeting with the practice assurance officer and, if warranted, the investigator assigned to your case. Depending on the outcome of the initial meeting, there will be three possible outcomes:
- The case is dismissed. (The complainant can appeal that decision.)
- The case is moved to mediation or dispute resolution.
- The case is moved on to further investigation.
Should the investigation result in a disciplinary hearing being ordered, the staff officer assigned will also represent you in this venue.
The three staff officers who will both represent you and prepare you for further matters are
Dan Coles — former teacher/administrator and Association investigator and presenting officer;
Richard Svoboda — former teacher/administrator, human resources superintendent and Association investigator and presenting officer; and
Tim Jeffares – former teacher/administrator, director of investigations and governance branch at Alberta Education, associate co-ordinator of the Association’s discipline branch pre-2023 and of the current RAMS branch.
Know that if you are working with these three staff, you will be treated with respect and dignity, and they will insure that the process will be followed fairly. This process will not protect teachers who have been found guilty of indictable offenses against children and society, but it will ensure that due process unfolds in a fair and just manner. ❚
ATA Staff Officer
