B.C. teacher disciplined for ‘actively assisting students to cheat’: regulator

A empty hallway is seen in a stock photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

A B.C. teacher who facilitated cheating on a standardized test has been suspended for five days, according to the provincial regulator.

Tasha Dawn Whitney admitted to the misconduct and agreed to the penalty in a consent resolution with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, which was posted online Tuesday.

Whitney was working as a high school teacher in the Okanagan in June of 2024, when she texted with a student about the Grade 12 Literacy Assessment—a provincially mandated test students must complete to graduate.

“Student A said they wanted someone else to write the assessment for them. Whitney replied by listing the names of three other students followed by the word ‘maybe.’ One student referenced was Student B,” the consent resolution said.

On the day of the test, Whitney acted as the invigilator—making her responsible for, among other things, ensuring each student only had one device, only used their personal log-in information, and only completed their own assessment, according to the resolution.

“Whitney allowed Student B to have two laptops open and their cellphone out during the entirety of the assessment period,” the document said.

“Whitney provided Student A with two unique log-in codes that had been provided by the Ministry of Education: one for Student A and one for Student B.”

When the principal reviewed the list of students who completed assessment, they saw Student A listed—but also noted that pupil was not at school on the day of the test, according to the consent resolution.

“The principal and vice-principal had conversations with Whitney about what had happened. Whitney repeatedly lied and minimized her role in Student A and Student B cheating,” the document said.

“During the district investigation, Whitney continued to lie about and downplay her involvement in Student A and Student B cheating.”

Whitney’s employment with the school district was terminated in September of 2024 and the commissioner ordered an investigation into the allegations of misconduct three months later.

The consent resolution was signed last month.

“By actively assisting students to cheat, and by lying throughout the district’s investigation, Whitney failed to act ethically and failed to role model appropriate behaviour to the students,” the document said.

“Whitney’s behaviour failed to maintain the credibility of the profession.”

Whitney will serve the five-day suspension in June of this year, and has also been ordered to take a course on professional boundaries and submit proof of completion to the regulator.