A Cowichan Valley School teacher has received a four-day teaching certificate suspension after a student was injured in a physical education class.
The teacher, Shannon Steininger, had received a letter of discipline from the Cowichan Valley School District in July of 2022 and was suspended for one day without pay in September of that year for the incident.
The BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation then reviewed the case and determined that a short suspension of the teachers certificate was appropriate.
In a resolution agreement between Steininger and the Commissioner it’s stated that students in a grade 8 and 9 PE class were asked to create a game using skills learned during the school year.
They created a combination of ultimate frisbee and touch football where tackling was allowed.
Steininger was unaware of the rules and when the game was played for the first time he stopped it because students were playing too roughly.
The second time the game was played, students were again warned against rough play and the game was eventually ended because of the aggressive play.
Another teacher told Steininger the game was not safe, and its rules needed to be revised.
On June 10, 2022, the game was played a third time and two other adults, including a teacher on call, told Steininger he needed to intervene due to safety concerns.
Steininger warned students the game would be stopped if they continued to engage in physical contact.
The game was finally stopped after a student was lifted off the ground and dropped, suffering a broken shoulder blade.
Under the agreement with the Commissioner, Steininger admits his actions constitute professional misconduct and agrees to a four-day suspension of his teaching certificate.
