The BC government is defending its position to keep a teacher’s identity under wraps after they were suspended for a day for tipping a student’s chair, causing them to hit their head.

According to a Sept. 15 BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, the unidentified elementary school teacher was involved in an incident while teaching a vulnerable Grade 5 student.

The decision said the student refused to listen to the teacher, so the teacher tipped up their chair.

“As a result, (the) student fell and hit their head on a table, causing (the) student to become upset and cry,” the decision read.

The injury wasn’t reported, and instead the teacher requested that the principal come to the classroom to speak with the student. The student then told the principal that they’d hit their head.

The school district suspended the teacher, who’s been teaching for almost 35 years, for a day and passed the file to the teaching regulator.

“The Teacher did not maintain a safe learning environment for their students,” the Commissioner said in the decision. “The Teacher failed to model the appropriate behaviour expected of an educator.”

The regulator also issued a one-day suspension, but in an unusual move redacted the teacher’s name.

The decision said the teacher’s identity had been redacted to protect the identity of students who were “harmed, abused or exploited by the teacher.”

However, of the 31 teachers publicly disciplined by the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation so far this year, none have had their names redacted. Conduct ranged from yelling at students to having a relationship with a recent graduate, and they faced consequences from a public reprimand to a lifetime ban.

In 2025, three teachers had their names redacted from the 43 that were publicly disciplined.

It’s unclear why in the current case the teacher’s name wasn’t made public when in so many other instances where children were harmed the name is released.

The Ministry of Education and Child Care said in an emailed statement that the decision to not identify a teacher is made on a case-by-case basis.

“This is not about protecting the teacher’s identity, but about protecting the victim or victims of the teacher’s misconduct,” the statement from the Ministry of Education and Child Care read.

“After reviewing all reports and complaints, if the Commissioner determines that discipline is warranted, the full discipline outcome is made public unless doing so would cause significant hardship to the victim or victims of the teacher’s misconduct.”

The Ministry added the well-being and safety of students and staff is its highest priority.