B.C. teacher suspended over comments on ‘physical appearance’ of students

Stock image of an empty classroom ( Dids, Pexels)

An inclusion teacher in B.C.’s Fraser Valley has been suspended over comments he made about the “physical appearance” of students.

Robert Luke Acheson was working at a Chilliwack high school when the incidents took place during the 2022-23 school year, according to a consent agreement he signed with B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

Inclusion teachers support students with diverse needs, and the agreement notes that Acheson had a “caseload of students identified as vulnerable” in his role.

According to the document, Acheson made comments to students about their physical appearance – and the physical appearance of one of his colleagues – on “several occasions” that year.

He also shared two personal anecdotes with students that “included inappropriate content of a sexual nature.”

The consent agreement does not provide specific details on the teacher’s remarks, but indicates the district disciplined Acheson at the time by barring him from taking any “assignments that worked with vulnerable students.”

He was also suspended 15 days without pay in June 2023, and ordered to complete a course on professional boundaries.

B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation ordered a follow-up investigation later that year, and decided to issue an additional one-day suspension of Acheson’s teaching certificate.