B.C. teacher swore at student, failed to keep appropriate boundaries: regulator

A Surrey high school teacher has received a two-day suspension for a pair of cases of misconduct identified by B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

Hussan Ali Riasat entered a consent resolution agreement with the commissioner last month, and a copy of the agreement was published online this week.

The document describes two separate investigations the commissioner conducted after receiving referrals from the Surrey School District.

The friend group conflict

The first matter involved Riasat’s efforts to resolve a conflict within a friend group of Grade 10 students in May and June 2021.

According to the consent agreement, the conflict centred around the relationship between a student identified only as “Student A” and the rest of the group. Two other students – referred to as “Student B” and “Student C” – asked Riasat, who was their English teacher, to help them resolve the conflict.

The teacher met with the students individually and in groups in an effort to mediate the conflict, but the consent agreement indicates he “failed to maintain appropriate boundaries between himself and the students” while doing so.

His misconduct included “sharing details about his personal life with them, writing them overly familiar and inappropriate messages and leaving an inappropriate voice message for Student B and Student C,” according to the document.

The consent agreement quotes extensively from this voice message, including an instance where Riasat said the following:

“Both of those things you are doing right there, accusing me of picking favourites and then telling me I am not validating your feelings is a guilt trip. That’s basically what is happening right now. And the only reason why you are saying that is because I am not actively participating in hating on [Student A] or her behaviour because I am being impartial because I am not picking sides.”

Riasat concluded that Students B and C were bullying Student A, and took action to inform school administration and other students of this belief.

In one case, Riasat told the president of a school club – a student referred to as “Student E” – that Student B was a bully and that Student E “might want to look into that,” according to the consent agreement.

“Riasat also told Student E that Student E could not tell anyone that he was the source of this information,” the document reads. “As a result of this conversation, Student B was removed from the club.”

For this and other conduct related to the friend group conflict, the school district issued Riasat a letter of discipline and suspended him for five days without pay in October 2023. It also referred the matter to the commissioner at that time.

The swearing incident

The second matter addressed in the consent agreement occurred in May and June 2024.

“On May 21, 2024, Riasat walked past some students in the hallway at the school,” the document reads. “A student said something about someone being bald. Riasat turned around and said: ‘What the f*** did you just say to me?.’”

The target of Riasat’s anger, a Grade 9 student, responded by asking, “Who the f*** are you talking to?” To which Riasat replied, “You.”

“Riasat then said: “F*** you, b****” and gave the students the middle finger as he walked away,” the consent agreement reads.

Unrelated to the profanity-laced interaction, the document also describes Riasat invigilating an exam for a student in a Starbucks while he was on medical leave in June 2024.

“When invigilating the exam, Riasat had logged in using a personal device and not a district-issued device,” the consent agreement reads. “Under district policy, (Surrey Academy of Integrated Learning) exams must be completed on district-issued devices and must also be written and invigilated at a school site.”

Riasat resigned from the school district a few days later, according to the document.

Commissioner discipline

In the consent agreement, Riasat acknowledged that his behaviour constituted professional misconduct and agreed to a two-day suspension of his teaching certificate.

He also agreed to complete the course “Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries” through the Justice Institute of British Columbia by Sept. 5.

If he fails to complete the course by that date, he can request an extension, but if the extension is not granted or an extended deadline is not met, the commissioner can suspend his certificate until the course is complete.

In determining that these were appropriate discipline measures for Riasat’s misconduct, the commissioner considered several factors, including the teacher’s “repeated lack of understanding of appropriate professional boundaries” and his repeated failure “to role model appropriate behaviour” and “treat students with acceptance, dignity and respect.”

The commissioner also noted that working when he had called in sick and violating district policy on exam administration undermines the public’s confidence in the teaching profession and the public education system.

Riasat “accepted responsibility and was apologetic for his actions in (the friend group conflict),” according to the document.