Committees
The College’s statutory and regulatory committees support the mandate of the College. Their purposes are set out in legislation or regulation, depending on the committee’s role in the governance structure. All statutory and regulatory committees are comprised of an equal number of Ontario Certified Teachers (OCTs) in good standing and members of the public who are not and were never a member of the teaching profession.
Statutory Committees
Statutory committees consider complaints and allegations made against individual members of the College in accordance with their statutory authority. They also consider registration disputes, can order interim suspensions, can impose remedial measures, and can suspend or revoke certifications as a form of professional discipline, among other measures.
Investigation:
The Investigation Committee screens all complaints regarding members of the College and determines the appropriate outcome for those complaints. College staff investigate complaints and gather information that is presented to a panel. The panel may decide to: refuse to further investigate; not refer a complaint and take no further action; issue a written reminder, advice, caution or admonishment; issue an oral caution or admonishment; adopt an agreement reached through the complaint resolution process; adopt an undertaking reached with respect to Teacher Performance Appraisals or an undertaking to resign and never to reapply; conduct medical inquiries regarding a member’s fitness to practise; or refer the matter to Discipline or Fitness to Practise. The role entails reviewing significant volumes of material.
Discipline:
The Discipline Committee conducts legal proceedings that are generally open to the public and rules on allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence by members of the College. A three-person panel receives evidence and submissions before reaching a decision that is supported by written reasons. If a panel finds that a member engaged in professional misconduct or is incompetent, it may make orders that include reprimands, the imposition of terms, conditions or limitations on their teaching certificate, suspensions or revocations. [Note: the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees share the same membership. Therefore, an appointment to the Discipline Committee will result in an automatic appointment to the Fitness to Practise Committee.]
Fitness to Practise:
The Fitness to Practise Committee generally conducts closed legal proceedings and rules on allegations related to a member of the College’s physical or mental capacity to carry out professional responsibilities. A three-person panel receives evidence and submissions before reaching a decision that is supported by written reasons. If a panel finds that a member is incapacitated, it may make orders that include the imposition of terms, conditions or limitations on their teaching certificate, suspension or revocation. [Note: the Discipline and Fitness to Practise Committees share the same membership. Therefore, an appointment to the Fitness to Practise Committee results in an automatic appointment to the Discipline Committee.]
Registration Appeals:
The Registration Appeals Committee review requests and/or applications from applicants who were denied certification with the College, or who had terms, conditions or limitations placed on their teaching certificate. Panels consider documentation provided by both the College and the applicant before rendering a decision supported by written reasons. Applicants may request the opportunity to deliver an oral presentation to the Panels.
Adjudicative Body of Chairs:
The chairs and vice-chairs of the Discipline, Fitness to Practise, Investigation and Registration Appeals committees also serve on the Adjudicative Body of Chairs. The Adjudicative Body of Chairs may: direct the Discipline to hold a hearing to determine allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence; direct the Fitness to Practise committee to hold a hearing to determine allegations of member incapacity; make interim orders directing the Registrar to suspend or impose terms, conditions or limitations on a member’s teaching certificate; direct the Registrar to issue a certificate to a member or to remove the suspension of a member’s certificate (i.e., reinstatement); approve the Registrar’s appointment of an investigator; and hold a hearing for complaints made against a Council, committee or roster member including for reasons of conflict of interest or for contravention of the oath.
Regulatory Committees:
Regulatory committees make decisions about the who, how and what of teacher training and education in Ontario. For example, these committees approve teacher education providers, initial teacher education programs and ongoing teacher education courses. Regulatory committees do not deal with individual members of the College, but rather how teachers become fully certified by the College and expand their teaching practice once certified.
Accreditation:
The Accreditation Committee reviews and accredits initial teacher education programs offered by post-secondary educational institutions in Ontario. Initial teacher education programs cannot be offered to teacher candidates until they have been accredited, and existing programs are reviewed on a cyclical basis to check that they continue to meet standards and requirements. Reviews are conducted by panels made up of both OCTs in good standing and non-OCTs with expertise in the program’s area of study. Panel members examine materials submitted by the program provider, interview program faculty and stakeholders and review facilities and resources. Members of the public can offer feedback as part of the program review. After the review, the panel develops a report that sets out its recommendations and the evidence it considered. The Accreditation Committee considers the report when issuing its decision regarding the program’s accreditation or continuing accreditation.
Accreditation Appeal:
The Accreditation Appeal Committee determines appeals from teacher education providers whose programs have been denied accreditation, awarded accreditation with conditions, or accreditation has been revoked, as well as appeals from providers of Additional Qualification programs.
Standards of Practice and Education:
The Standards of Practice and Education Committee advises on the development, implementation and review of the three components of the Foundations of Professional Practice: Ethical Standards, Standards of Practice and the Professional Learning Framework. The committee also reviews and approves Additional Qualification policy guidelines and associated research.
Chair Duties:
The duties of the chair of a committee or subcommittee are limited to the following:
- Providing leadership to the committee or subcommittee by,
- guiding the committee or subcommittee in carrying out its responsibilities, and working collaboratively with the Registrar,
- leading orderly deliberation and decision-making on matters before the committee or subcommittee, and
- acting as the liaison between the committee or subcommittee and the Council and the Registrar.
- Managing meetings by,
- calling and presiding over meetings,
- approving meeting agendas and meeting dates,
- ensuring that meeting agendas reflect matters assigned to the committee or subcommittee in accordance with the Act or the regulations,
- ensuring that minutes are taken at each meeting, reviewing and approving minutes at subsequent meetings and signing the minutes once approved,
- directing members of the committee or subcommittee who have made a conflict of interest declaration to leave the meeting when the issue in question is being discussed, and
- providing reports for inclusion in the annual report and for presentation to the annual meeting of members.
In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair temporarily acts as and has all the powers and duties of the chair.
Interested in a role on one of our committees? Applications for governance positions are accepted year-round and are held for review until the annual selection process, which occurs at the end of the calendar year.
