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The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) has become the first teachers’ organization in North America to be given the right, under its professional legislation, to monitor the competence of its members.
On February 8, Deputy Minister of Education Keray Henke advised the Association that then minister of education Ron Liepert had approved the Practice Review Bylaws. The bylaws come into effect September 1, 2009.
The ATA’s Provincial Executive Council (PEC) approved the bylaws at its January meeting, subject to ratification of the memorandum of agreement between the Association and the Government of Alberta regarding the unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan. The approval fulfills the ATA’s long-standing policy that the teaching profession, not the government, should be responsible for determining whether its members meet professional practice standards. Based on collegiality and the Teacher Growth, Supervision and Evaluation Policy (TGSEP), the practice review processes outlined in the bylaws largely parallel the Association’s professional conduct processes.
Dr. Gordon Thomas, ATA executive secretary, led the discussions with government to achieve this long-sought Association goal. "This is an important step forward for the teaching profession in our journey to full professional status," he said. "The establishment and implementation of professional practice standards are a vital role of the profession and its professional organization."
ATA President Frank Bruseker agreed. "These are important decisions for teachers and their professional organization, and we are pleased to assume these professional responsibilities," he said.
What is member competence?
Member competence refers to a teacher’s knowledge, skills and attitudes. Competence is integral to professionalism—incompetent teachers should not be teaching, and teachers whose competence is marginal should receive assistance. The Association has long sought the authority to investigate the professional practice of any teacher whose competence is called into question, just as other professional organizations, including those representing doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, nurses, engineers, architects, geologists and psychologists, are responsible for the competence of their members. That investigation is called practice review. A panel of peers is best able to judge the skill of a teacher’s practice and suspend or cancel the membership of a teacher whose practice is deemed unskilled.
Why has the Association not been responsible for member competence until now?
Member conduct and member competence are the hallmarks of a self-governing profession, and the Association and its predecessor, the Alberta Teachers’ Alliance, have sought authority for both since the 1920s. Although the Association became responsible for member conduct in 1935 with the passage of the Teaching Profession Act, member competence has always been the domain of the minister of education, who, in 1987, delegated that responsibility to the Council on Alberta Teaching Standards (COATS) through the Practice Review of Teachers Regulation.
Eight decades of Association representation to government regarding member competence began to bear fruit in 2003, when then minister of learning Lyle Oberg, in examining various recommendations of Alberta’s Commission on Learning, concluded that a better mechanism was needed to deal with "incompetent teachers." Practice review was offered as a solution, and the government agreed to amend the Teaching Profession Act to make the Association responsible for practice review of teachers. Proclaimed in 2004, the amendments allowed the Association to assume responsibility for reviewing the professional practice of active members.
While the government’s directions concerning practice review were welcome, government also accepted the learning commission’s recommendation to establish "a new Council of Education Executives to provide certification, ongoing support and professional development for principals and assistant principals." That summer, PEC passed a motion at an emergent meeting that the Association would not approve the Practice Review Bylaws until the government clarified that there would be no Council of Education Executives and that school administrators would continue as active members of the Association, protecting the structure of a collegial profession.
Liepert provided that clarification in a November 2007 letter confirming the terms of the memorandum of agreement between the Association and the government regarding the unfunded liability of the teachers’ pension plan. "Government has no intention of establishing a Council of Education Executives as was earlier recommended by Alberta’s Commission on Learning’s Report of 2003," he wrote. "Nor does government have any intention of removing principals from the Association."
How will the practice review processes work?
A person may make a written complaint to the superintendent of schools concerning the professional competence of a teacher with respect to teaching students. Before acting on the complaint, the superintendent must ensure that the complainant has attempted to address the complaint with the teacher and principal concerned. If the superintendent does not receive a complaint but has reasonable grounds to question the professional competence of a teacher, the superintendent may initiate an investigation in accordance with the TGSEP.
If the superintendent concludes, on completing the investigation, that the Teaching Quality Standard is not being met, that the TGSEP has been followed and that the teacher’s suitability for certification is in question, then the superintendent must, within 30 days, make a report to that effect to the executive secretary of the Association. The executive secretary must, within 30 days of receiving the report, order a hearing by the Professional Practice Review Committee.
If the superintendent determines that the teacher’s professional competence will not be assessed by the Professional Practice Review Committee, then the complainant may request a review of the superintendent’s decision by the Complainant Appeal Committee within 30 days by providing the executive secretary with reasons why a hearing should be held and by paying a $250 fee. The Complainant Appeal Committee must consist of two to four members of the Association and a member of the public.
If the superintendent determines that the teacher’s professional competence will be assessed by the Professional Practice Review Committee, then a hearing must commence within 120 days or any other reasonable period set by Council. The Association must present the case against the teacher. The hearing committee must consist of two teachers, one principal or assistant principal, and one central office administrator, all named by the Association, and a member of the public named by the minister of education.
The hearing committee may find that the teacher’s professional competence meets or does not meet the Teaching Quality Standard. If the hearing committee finds that the teacher’s professional competence does not meet the Teaching Quality Standard, then the hearing committee may cancel the teacher’s membership in the Association, suspend the teacher’s membership for any period the hearing committee considers proper, recommend that the minister cancel or suspend the teacher’s certificate, declare the teacher ineligible for membership in the Association for any period the hearing committee considers proper and/or make any further or other order the hearing committee considers appropriate.
The teacher, the superintendent or PEC may appeal the hearing committee’s finding and/or order to the Professional Practice Appeal Committee. The appeal committee must consist of three to five members of the Association and one member of the public. The appeal committee must make any finding or order that, in its opinion, ought to have been made by the hearing committee; quash, vary or confirm a finding or order, or substitute a finding or order of its own; or refer the matter back to the hearing committee for further consideration.
What will happen to COATS and the Practice Review of Teachers Regulation?
Once the Practice Review of Teachers Regulation has been amended to take into account the Practice Review Bylaws, COATS will continue to investigate allegations of unskilled or incompetent teaching by certificated teachers not covered by the bylaws, including teachers employed by private schools. COATS will also continue to undertake activities related to teacher certification; teacher preparation, induction and professional growth; excellence in teaching; and other matters of interest to the minister of education.
Will practice review render the Board of Reference obsolete?
No. Practice review is not an employment mechanism but a mechanism for dealing with questions of competence. It will be up to the superintendent to decide whether to refer a matter to the Professional Practice Review Committee or to the Board of Reference. If the matter is referred to the Professional Practice Review Committee and the hearing committee cancels the teacher’s membership in the Association, the matter will no longer fall under the purview of the Board of Reference. If the hearing committee determines that the teacher’s professional competence meets the Teaching Quality Standard, that determination may be used as evidence in any subsequent hearing by the Board of Reference and may limit the school board’s ability to terminate the teacher’s employment. The Professional Practice Review Committee and the Board of Reference may not conduct simultaneous hearings—the Professional Practice Review Committee would consider the matter first.
Why is there a 19-month interval between the minister’s approval of the Practice Review Bylaws and their implementation?
The September 1, 2009, implementation date will give the Association time to educate its members and other key education partners about the bylaws, work closely with key partners to prepare for implementation, handle budgeting requirements and assign staff to practice review functions.
Can the Practice Review Bylaws be amended or revoked?
PEC may amend the Practice Review Bylaws, subject to the approval of the minister of education. PEC or the minister may also revoke approval of the bylaws.
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