B.C. teacher disciplined for failing to report ‘pantsing’ of student by teammates

School lockers are seen in this undated file photo.

A B.C. teacher has been disciplined for failing to report a caught-on-video ‘pantsing’ incident involving members of the volleyball team he was coaching, according to the professional regulator.

Kelly Jean Hettinga admitted to professional misconduct in a consent resolution agreement with the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation earlier this month, and the document was posted online Tuesday.

The first instance of misconduct occurred in September of 2021 when Hettinga was coaching the senior girls volleyball team at a school in the Okanagan, according to the agreement.

“Hettinga and the team stopped at a public rest area during the drive back from an out-of-town volleyball tournament. During the stop, Student A and other team members used the washroom facilities. As Student A and other team members exited the washroom facilities, a group of Team members were waiting and one of them pulled down Student A’s pants,” the document said.

“Hettinga did not witness the pantsing or any videotaping of the pantsing as Hettinga was waiting for the Team members in the van at the parking lot as planned.”

The student’s parent contacted the teacher the following day and informed him about what had happened. Hettinga and the parent agreed on a plan to address the incident, including that the student be allowed to address the team at its next practice.

“Student A read a prepared statement to the team, in which they expressed their hurt and embarrassment from the pantsing and their ‘biggest concern,’ which was that any video of the pantsing be deleted immediately and that they be notified if the video had been sent to anyone so that they could address it right away,” according to the agreement.

“Hettinga told the team that if a video existed, it was to be deleted and not shared.”

The teacher did not report the incident to the school administration, in part because the student’s parent had expressed concern about drawing more attention to the matter. The consent resolution noted that informing the administration was not part of the plan for addressing the issued that the parent and Hettinga agreed upon. Still, the regulator found the decision not to report the incident amounted to misconduct.

“Hettinga failed to report to the school administration a serious incident of student misconduct involving emotional harm and breach of privacy to another student,” the agreement said.

The administration was made aware of the incident roughly two months later and responded by convening meetings with those involved—including Hettinga, the student, their parents, and the team members responsible for the pantsing.

At the first practice after the meeting, Hetting made a comment “to the effect that he was not going to change how he runs the team based on outside influences, whether it be parents or other things,” according to the agreement.

The school district disciplined Hettinga by suspending him for three days and removing him from teaching and coaching duties at the school for three years—through June 2025.

Hettinga also admitted to a separate instance of misconduct later in the 2021-22 school year, when he was acting as a volunteer coach at a community volleyball tournament.

The team he was coaching included some of the team members who had been identified as responsible for the pantsing and was playing against a team of which Student A was a member. Hettinga admitted to getting into a “heated exchange” with a parent whom he called a “prick,” according to the agreement.

“Hettinga’s inappropriate conduct at the community volleyball tournament was contrary to his duty as an educator to be a role model,” the agreement said.

That incident resulted in an eight-day suspension being imposed by the district and a three-year extension on the coaching prohibition—meaning it would be in effect until June 2028. Hettinga’s employment was also terminated, the agreement said.

The provincial regulator determined that a reprimand and a requirement to complete a course on professional boundaries was an appropriate sanction for the misconduct, noting the district’s imposition of a cumulative 11-day suspension and Hettinga’s dismissal.