B.C. teacher’s licence suspended for dragging student from class

A B.C. teacher who lost his temper and physically removed a student with specialized learning needs from his class had his licence suspended for a week.

David Wesley St. Clair Reid was teaching a Grade 8 class in February 2021 when a student who had “well-documented designations and an individual education plan” caught his attention, the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation wrote in a decision posted to the discipline website on Tuesday.

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“While it is the district’s expectation that teachers familiarize themselves with students’ Individualized Education Plans and safety plans, Reid had not done so where (the student) was concerned,” according to the agreed statement of facts.

“As a consequence, Reid was not familiar with events that would trigger (the student) or how to respond appropriately to (the student) when triggered.”

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Contrary to the student’s safety plan and learning plan, Reid embarrassed the student in front of their classmates and when the student became agitated, “they reached up and made contact with Reid’s face.”

Reid, in turn, physically and angrily moved the student out of the classroom by his arm.

“At one point, (the student) tripped and fell backward onto the floor, causing Reid to fall on top of (them),” the commissioner wrote.

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Reid began to pull the student up while ordering them out of the classroom and the student became anxious, the commissioner wrote.

When the district learned of the series of events, a letter was issued and Reid was suspended for five days without pay.

The BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation added to the reprimand this week and suspended Reid’s teaching certificate for seven days, noting that he did not maintain a positive and safe learning environment for the student and the physical interaction was inappropriate.

The school district this incident occurred was not mentioned in the document published online Tuesday.