A School District 43 elementary school teacher will lose her teaching certificate for one day and must take a Justice Institute course as part of disciplinary proceedings for commenting on and distributing anti-SOGI 123 material.
The actions are contrary to B.C. and SD43 policy, according to a decision by the BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
Dori Waldene Hannibal was also suspended for 15 days in October, 2019 while SD43 was investigating her conduct.
According to a decision made public this week, Hannibal was approached by a member of her school’s parent advisory committee on June 18, 2019 to talk about a school matter.
After the initial discussion, Hannibal spoke to this person about the Parent Advisory Council meeting that night and gave her two pamphlets to hand out.
“These pamphlets were published by Parents United Canada and included the statement ‘Stop SOGI 123,’ which refers to policy and curriculum related to sexual orientation and gender identity that includes a focus on valuing diversity and respecting differences and the topics of human rights and responses to discrimination,” according to the consent resolution agreement published online.
Further, Hannibal made inflammatory statements about the content and nature of SOGI policy and curriculum, including that it was “harmful” to students.
On Oct. 15, 2019, SD43 disciplined Hannibal for this conduct and other conduct occurring during its investigation, suspending her without pay for 15 days.
Several weeks later on Dec. 6, the commissioner considered the matter and proposed a consent resolution agreement to Hannibal, in accordance with the Teachers Act.
The agreement signed April 8, requires Hannibal to agree to a one-day suspension of her teaching qualifications on Sept. 24, 2020.
As well, Hannibal is required to complete the Justice Institute course “Creating a Positive Learning Environment,” and provide proof of completion. If she doesn’t complete the course by April 30, her certificate of qualification will be suspended until she successfully completes the course, the resolution agreement states.
SOGI HISTORY IN SD43
SOGI stands for sexual orientation and gender identity and programs have been in place in SD43 since 2018 with the goal of recognizing that students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or not exclusively heterosexual deserve to have a safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environment.
It has been controversial in B.C., and prompted a rally in Port Moody, and at least one school board candidate in the 2015 civic election opposed it.
School District 43 notes on its website that SOGI is not a curriculum but a topic that can be addressed in many subjects, stating that there is a “legitimate need for increasing awareness of sexual orientation and gender identity to be as inclusive as possible.” SOGI follows changes to B.C. human rights legislation to include gender expression as a prohibited grounds of discrimination (sexual orientation was already include in the code), it further states at SD43.bc.ca under Resources.
