A B.C teacher was suspended for five days following an incident in which a student was duct-taped to a seat – apparently to help them focus on their work.
A B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision released Jan. 21 said Renee Dawn MacCormack was a teacher in Southeast Kootenay School District in the 2023-24 school year.
“MacCormack had a leadership role as a principal and she ought to have known that duct-taping a student to a chair was inappropriate,” the decision said.
MacCormack conducted herself inappropriately by giving permission to a school employee to use duct tape to tape a student to their seat to help them focus on their work, according to the decision.
The decision said MacCormack herself also put duct tape on the student to attach them to their seat.
“MacCormack came by some time later and took a picture of the student’s work, helped to remove the duct tape, and gave the student a prize for completing the assigned work,” the decision said.
The commissioner said that after the incident, when the district started an investigation, MacCormack did not say that she was involved, or that she told the employee that it was OK to duct-tape the student to the chair, or that she also participated in duct-taping the student.
“MacCormack did not act with integrity when she did not disclose to the district in a timely manner her participation in the duct-taping of the student,” the decision said. “This conduct undermines the perception of the profession as a whole.”
On June 18, 2024, the district disciplined MacCormack by suspending her without pay for 20 days. She was also assigned to another school.
MacCormack must also complete the course Creating a Positive Learning Environment through the Justice Institute of British Columbia by March 31.
