A Central Okanagan school teacher with a history of discipline issues has been handed a fourth suspension for alleged inappropriate interactions with students and parents.
Justin Enns has been suspended for five days (June 5-9) as part of a consent resolution agreement set out by the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.
The agreement states that in November 2016, Enns was issued a letter of expectation in which he was reminded to “exercise judgment and sensitivity in monitoring the appropriateness of all subject matter to ensure the classroom is a racism-free and discrimination-free environment.”
In January 2017, he was given a letter of direction following allegations he had interacted inappropriately with students and parents.
Enns was also suspended for five days in February 2019 after hitting a metre stick on desks to get students’ attention, showing age-inappropriate videos, and embarrassing a student in front of a class.
READ MORE: Central Okanagan teacher suspended for showing South Park, John Oliver to students
According to the agreement, in fall 2021, Enns believed a student was making inappropriate sexualized gestures with their chest in the classroom, but was actually removing one of two shirts they were wearing. This caused the student to be embarrassed and leave the classroom.
In a separate incident, Enns was concerned with the frequency and duration of trips to the bathroom by another student.
When questioned by Enns the student replied they were on their period, to which Enns replied, ‘you must always be on your period’.
Also in the fall of 2021, Enns retweeted a post related to a drag queen who led “Drag Queen Story Hour” and was allegedly arrested for possession of child pornography.
The original tweet stated, “if only there would have been some warning signs, we could’ve stopped this earlier”.
Another post retweeted by Enns related to a 60 Minutes segment that dealt with the role of peer influence and social media in encouraging trans identification in teens, and the rising population of detransitioners.
A parent contacted school administrators out of concern that the retweets reflected Enns’ personal views towards the transgendered community.
In June 2022, the commissioner ordered an investigation of Enns’ conduct under a section of the Teachers Act and the consent agreement was proposed in November.
The agreement states that Enns admits that the incidents in 2021 constitute professional misconduct and that he also agrees to the June 5-9 suspension.
Enns must also successfully complete a Reinforcing Respectful Professional Boundaries course through the Justice Institute by March 31, 2024.
@GaryBarnes109
gary.barnes@kelownacapnews.com
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