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A B.C. music teacher who continued to let her class sing, drum and play instruments, while the school was under a 20-minute lockdown has been suspended for two days.

According to a March 25  B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, Julie Paule Archambault said in her defence that she was unsure what a "lockdown" was but did ask her Grade 2 students if they knew.

The decision said on the morning of Nov. 24, 2020, Archambault was a supply teacher teaching a Grade 2 music class in Vancouver.

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At roughly 10 a.m. the principal came on the school's PA system and announced there was a lockdown, and specified it was not a drill.

School protocol stipulated a teacher during a lockdown must make sure the room is secure by closing and locking doors, turning off the lights, being quiet and getting pupils down low behind heavy furniture. Cell phones are to be turned to silent and placed screen down on the floor until police or school officials advise the lockdown is over.

However, Archambault's class continued drumming, playing music, and singing "throughout" the duration of the lockdown which lasted about 20 minutes.

"This was contrary to the lockdown provisions," the decision read.

"When asked by school administrators why her class had been making noise during the lockdown, Archambault answered that she was unsure what lockdown meant and asked her students if they knew what it might mean," the decision said. "At no time did Archambault use the phone in the classroom to contact the school office for clarification."

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The decision also pointed to a health and safety program that Archambault took several months before the incident that explained what to do if a lockdown did occur.

Archambault signed a consent resolution agreement admitting to her behaviour and accepted a two-day suspension.

"Archambault had received training about the District's lockdown procedures and offered no reasonable explanation for failing to follow those procedures during the lockdown period," the decision said.

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