B.C. teacher who pushed elementary school student gets 1-day suspension

Desks are seen in a primary school classroom in Vancouver on Thursday, April 13, 2023. (The Canadian Press / Darryl Dyck)

A B.C. teacher who pushed an elementary school student she believed had insulted her mother has agreed to a one-day suspension and remedial education.

Jeven Kaur Gill agreed to the punishment in a consent resolution agreement with B.C.’s Commissioner for Teacher Regulation last month, which was published on the commissioner’s website Tuesday.

The conduct that led to the consent agreement occurred in June 2023, when Gill was teaching a Grade 6/7 French class at an elementary school in Maple Ridge.

The specific school is not named in the document.

According to the agreement, Gill had allowed a group of students to play cards as a reward, provided they did so quietly. The student she pushed—referred to in the document as “Student A”—was in Grade 6.

“When Gill observed that the students were being too noisy, she approached the group and advised them that the activity would end,” the document reads.

“Student A then made an offensive comment about someone’s mother. While Student A maintains that this was a joke directed towards a classmate, Gill presumed that the comment was made about her own mother.”

At this point, Gill “became visibly angry” and yelled at the student not to disrespect her mother.

“This was done in very close proximity to Student A’s face,” the consent agreement reads.

“Gill placed both hands on Student A’s shoulders and pushed Student A backwards into a whiteboard, causing Student A to stumble but not fall. Gill also inadvertently knocked the baseball cap off of Student A’s head while gesturing.”

The affected student and “at least two” other students reported being shocked by the interaction, according to the document.

At the time of the incident, Gill was preparing to move to a different part of the province, the consent agreement notes. She had already submitted her resignation to the school district.

The commissioner’s investigation began in September 2023 and a consent resolution proposal was made in October 2024.

By accepting the agreement, Gill acknowledged that her behaviour constituted professional misconduct and agreed to have her certificate of qualification suspended for one day. She also agreed to complete the course “Creating a Positive Learning Environment” through the Justice Institute of B.C. by March 31, 2026.

In concluding that this was the appropriate discipline for Gill, the commissioner considered that the teacher “did not create an emotionally safe and positive learning environment,” “did not role model appropriate behaviour” and had an “inappropriate” physical altercation with the affected student.