BC teacher who ‘made contact’ with student gets reprimanded

A veteran BC high school teacher who “made contact” with a student after he put his arm out to block them leaving the washroom, has been reprimanded by the regulator following a one-day suspension.

According to a Sept. 23 BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, high school teacher Tony Kurt Schubert was walking past the washroom when he saw students inside he thought might have been vaping.

The decision said he stood in the doorway and told the students to come over to him.

One student exited the toilet stall and walked toward Schubert and tried to duck under his left arm to leave the washroom, but Schubert put his arm down so the student couldn’t leave.

“(The) student moved forward and (the) student’s chest made contact with Schubert’s left hand, causing (the) student to step backwards,” the decision read.

The incident occurred in September 2023 at an unnamed high school within School District No. 58, Prince George.

Following the incident, the Prince George school district suspended Schubert for one day without pay and passed the file to the regulator.

Schubert, who has been teaching in BC for 25 years, signed a consent agreement with the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation admitting to his conduct.

“Schubert’s actions in physically blocking (the) student escalated the situation,” the regulator said in the decision. “Schubert made physical contact with (the) student when it was unnecessary for safety.”

Along with the public reprimand, the teacher was told to complete a De-escalating Hostility course by the end of the year.