Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK
August 31, 2023 - 7:00 PM
A BC teacher is starting the school year with a suspension after he inappropriately comforted a vulnerable student last year.
Jonathan Toma agreed to the suspension, which will start Sept. 5, according to the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
Toma, who's been a teacher since 1999, was given a discipline letter from his employer on June 17, 2022, after he both hugged and held hands with a "vulnerable" female student who viewed him as their "safe person," according to the regulator.
He offered the student comfort in May and June 2022, but he also held hands with and hugged other students at the school, according to the regulator's decision.
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Three days after he was given the letter, Toma was suspended without pay until June 30. He resigned at the end of that suspension.
Earlier in the same school year, Toma also made "highly inappropriate" comments to another student the regulator called "at-risk." She was going through a "particularly difficult period" and Toma also put his arm around her.
He was given a discipline letter for that incident on March 31 and was suspended without pay for three days.
The regulator was informed of the incidents in June 2022 and Toma entered a consent agreement this August.
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According to the teacher commissioner, Toma failed to model respectful behaviour and showed a lack of understanding of professional boundaries, despite previous reminders.
He signed the agreement on Aug. 16, which includes the three-week suspension and a requirement that he complete a course on respecting boundaries before he can return to the classroom.
The regulator did not say what school district Toma worked at.
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