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December 06, 2022 - 12:48 PM
A Vancouver Island teacher was suspended and removed from coaching duties after he demonstrated an athletic technique with a student.
Russell Stephen Bodnar pulled a student into the demonstration without consent during an "athletic practice" on Nov. 17, 2021, according to a recent decision from the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
The Port Alberni area school district suspended Bodnar for three days without pay and removed him from all coaching duties, the decision said.
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The decision doesn't specify exactly what the technique was or what sport he was coaching, but Alberni Valley News has previously reported Bodnar was a wrestling coach at School District 70 in the Port Alberni area.
"Without warning, and without (the student's) consent, Bodnar used (the student) to demonstrate a technique. The technique Bodnar was demonstrating required him to physically interact with (the student)," the decision read. "(The student) felt very uncomfortable as a result."
He failed to appreciate the "emotional and physical impact of his contact" with the student without their consent, according to the teacher regulator.
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Bodnar served his three day suspension from Jan. 4 to 7 this year, and completed a course on respecting boundaries in March.
On Nov. 21, 2022, Bodnar signed a consent resolution agreement with the teacher regulator in which he admitted to the details of the investigation. He agreed to an additional one-day suspension, which he served, Dec. 5.
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