An elementary school principal with School District 5 (Southeast Kootenay) was suspended for five days, after duct-taping a student to their chair during the 2023-2024 school year.
The incident involving Renee Dawn MacCormack was reported in a Summary of a Consent Resolution Agreement, published by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
According to the summary, MacCormack gave permission to an employee at the school to use duct tape to tape a student to their seat to help the student focus on their work. MacCormack also participated in putting duct tape on the student to attach the student to their seat.
The summary says MacCormack came by some time later and took a picture of the student’s work, helped to remove the duct tape, and gave the student a prize for completing the assigned work.
On June 18, 2024, the School District 5 disciplined MacCormack by suspending her without pay for 20 days. In addition, the District re-assigned MacCormack to another school.
“On June 24, 2024, the Commissioner ordered an investigation under section 47(1) of the Teachers Act. During the investigation, the summary says, MacCormack did not say that she was involved, that she told the employee that it was okay to duct-tape the Student to the chair, or that she also participated in duct-taping the student.
“On January 3, 2025, 8. in the consent resolution agreement, MacCormack agreed to a five-day suspension of her certificate of qualification and to successfully complete the course Creating a Positive Learning Environment through the Justice Institute of British Columbia by March 31, 2025.”
The summary reports that the Commissioner considered the following factors when determining the appropriate consequences:
“MacCormack did not act in the Student’s best interests nor treat the Student with dignity and respect.
“MacCormack had a leadership role as a principal and she ought to have known that duct-taping a student to a chair was inappropriate; other staff at the School were aware that it was inappropriate.
“MacCormack did not act with integrity when she did not disclose to the District in a timely manner her participation in the duct-taping of the Student. This conduct undermines the perception of the profession as a whole.”
