Yukon Teacher Certification Board
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  • Appeal Process
  • Terms of Reference
  • ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
  Yukon Teacher Certification Board
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Appeal process


Jurisdiction 
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Section 14 of the Teacher Certification Regulations sets out the authority of the Teacher Certification Board to hear appeals of the decision of the Registrar to issue, suspend or cancel a certificate to teach in the Yukon.
 
      “board” means the teacher certification board;
      “committee” means the certification appeal committee named under subsection 14(1)

1.      Appeals
       1.             (1) The board will act as a certification appeal committee.
                       (2) The committee may establish rules and procedures for considering an appeal,
                            determining evidence, and conducting a hearing.
                      (3) The committee will receive and consider appeals against;
                            a) Any decision of the registrar regarding the evaluation of
                                applications, issuance of certificates, and validation or expiration of
                                certificates; and,
                            b) Any recommendation of the registrar to the minister regarding the
                               suspension or cancellation of a certificate.
                       (4) An appeal must be submitted to the committee in writing, within     
                          ninety days of the date of the registrar’s decision, and be accompanied
                          by a statement of reasons for the appeal and any relevant documentation.
                       (5) The committee will establish, within a reasonable time, a date for the
​                           hearing of the appeal.
                       (6) The appellant and the registrar may:
                             (a) attend and be represented at the hearing; and
                             (b) make a written or oral submission at the hearing.
                       (7) The committee may confirm, vary or overturn a decision or a
                           recommendation of the registrar and will notify in writing and within a
​                           reasonable time, the appellant, the registrar and the minister of its
                           decision and reasons therefor.

 
2.      Consideration of an Appeal
                2.1.   In order for an appeal to be consider it must meet the following criteria.
                   2.1.1. The request must concern a decision of the Registrar regarding
                          2.1.1.1. the issuance of a certificate, or
                          2.1.1.2. the suspension or cancellation of a certificate
                   2.1.2. The appeal must be received by the Board
                         2.1.2.1. in writing, within ninety days of the date of the Registrar’s
                                     decision;

                         2.1.2.2. include a statement of the appellant specifying the order sought,
                                      the grounds of the application, and any relevant documentation;
                                      and

                         2.1.2.3. include if language translation services are required if other than
                                      English.

                2.2. Prior to hearing an appeal the Board may
                        2.2.1. decide not to hear it if it is not within the jurisdiction of the Board,
​                                  or

                        2.2.2. defer hearing it if the matter is being addressed in another process,
                                  for example, the courts or another investigation.

 
3.      Establishing a Hearing
                    3.1. At least a majority of the Board will hear the appeal.
                          3.1.1. A Committee member may participate in the hearing by phone or
                                    videoconference.

                          3.1.2.Only those Committee members participating in the hearing will
                                    be involved in the decision.

                          3.1.3. If a member believes they have a real, perceived or potential bias
                                   or conflict of interest with any aspect of an appeal they will inform
                                   the Board who will make the final decision regarding whether or
                                   not to excuse the member from hearing the appeal. This process
                                   may include discussions with the representatives of the appeal.

                    3.2. A Committee member, other than the Assistant Deputy Minister of
                             Public Schools, elected by a majority of the Committee participating
​                             in the hearing, will chair the appeal.

                     3.3. A hearing  should be established in a timely manner but with sufficient
                             notice to the appellant and the Registrar for them to prepare.  The                                               
                             Committee will provide notice in writing to the parties.

                     3.4. The Registrar and appellant must provide to the other party, with
                             sufficient time for its due consideration,

                            3.4.1. the information that each will present to the Committee for its |
                                      consideration – within the bounds of privacy, security and
                                      confidentiality and

                            3.4.2. a summary of anticipated evidence provided by any witness
                                      called by that party.

                     3.5. The appellant may attend in person, or participate through phone or
                            videoconference, and be represented at the hearing.

                     3.6. The Registrar will attend in person, through phone or videoconference,
                            and may also have counsel at the hearing.

                     3.7. The Committee will maintain a record of the hearing.
                     3.8. The hearing will not be open to the public.
                     3.9. A request to change the date or location of an appeal may be made by
                            the appellant in writing. As well, the request will set out the reasons
                            for the request and be delivered to the Board and the Registrar. 

                             3.9.1. A request for a change under 3.9 must be made as soon as the
                                       appellant knows the reason for the change. A failure to make the
                                       request as soon as practicable may be a factor when the
                                       Committee considers the request.

4.      Conducting a Hearing
                     4.1. Call to Order
                            4.1.1. The Chair will:
                                  4.1.1.1. call the appeal to order,
                                  4.1.1.2. have the parties introduce themselves,
                                  4.1.1.3. establish that both the appellant and the Registrar agree that
                                         the Committee has jurisdiction to hear the matter,

                                  4.1.1.4. clarify that the purpose of the hearing is to confirm, vary or
                                          overturn the decision of the Registrar for the reasons outlined
                                          in the appellant’s appeal.

                        4.2. Opening Statements
                              4.2.1. Both parties have the opportunity to describe their case without
                                    objection or interruption from the other side, beginning with the
                                    appellant. Generally, each party tells the Committee what the case
                                    is about, what is in dispute, where there is agreement, how the
                                    evidence will be presented (e.g. affidavit, verbal testimony,
                                    documents), who the parties are and the remedy that is being
                                    requested.

                                4.2.2. After both sides have completed their opening statements, the
                                       Chair may take a few minutes to clarify the nature of the dispute
                                       and address any procedural questions or issues that may have
                                       been raised.

                         4.3. Evidence
                              4.3.1. The parties present the facts upon which the Committee will
                                     make its decision. This is done through submission of written
                                     documents and the testimony of witnesses. Once the appellant
​                                     has presented his/her evidence, the same process is followed for
                                     evidence from the Registrar.

                           4.4. Witnesses     
                               4.4.1. Witnesses will be asked by the chair to:
                                     4.4.1.1.  spell their names for the record
                                     4.4.1.2   make the following affirmation: “I, [name] solemnly
                                           affirm that the evidence to be given by me shall be the truth,
​                                           the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

                                4.4.2.  For each witness, the presentation of evidence is in the
                                           following order:

                                       4.4.2.1.  direct examination - the presentation of evidence by the
                                             party’s witness

                                4.4.3.  cross-examination - the examination of the party’s witness by
​                                       the opposing party’s representative

                                4.4.4.  re-examination - this is the opportunity to clarify the
                                       testimony of a witness by the party that initially called that
                                       witness.

                                      4.4.4.1.  re-examination will occur if confusion arises in the
                                             course of cross-examination, or to further question the |                                                       
                                             witness regarding new matters raised in cross-examination. 
                                             Re-examination cannot be used to have the party’s witness
                                             reiterate what was already said, nor can it be used to
                                             introduce new matters not touched upon during the original
                                             direct examination of the witness.

                                 4.4.5.  The Committee may also ask questions of a witness at any
                                        time during his/her testimony. The parties will then be given an
                                        opportunity to ask questions of the witness arising from any
                                        questions asked by the Chair.

                           4.5.  Privacy Interests
                               4.5.1.  In order to protect the privacy interests of a person about
                                      whom information may be disclosed in the course of a hearing
                                      the Committee may make an order respecting the use or
                                      disclosure of that information by the person to whom it is
                                     disclosed including

                                       4.5.1.1.  placing limits on or restricting the copying, scanning or
                                              any other duplication of that information, and 

                                       4.5.1.2.  expressly limiting its use to the preparation for and
                                             responding to an appeal. 

                             4.6.  Argument
                                 4.6.1.  Each party should remind the Committee of key evidence
                                        that was presented through witness testimony or documents,
                                        explain the significance of the evidence and how it supports
                                        their case, and give reasons for the Committee to disregard
                                        evidence that is contrary to the case being made.

                                4.7.  Rebuttal
                                   4.7.1.  The appellant can argue against any points raised by the
                                          Registrar that were not addressed in his/her own argument. It
​                                          is not an opportunity to repeat or to reargue his/her case.

 
5.      Making the Decision
                             5.1.  The appellant has the burden of proof, meaning that the obligation is
                                  on them to prove to the Committee that the Registrar’s decision is                                             
                                  wrong and that they are correct.

                             5.2.  The civil standard of proof is proof on a balance of probabilities.
The Committee must decide whether or not it happened. There is no room for a finding that it might have happened. The law operates a binary system in which the only values are zero and one. The fact either happened or it did not. If the tribunal is left in doubt, the doubt is resolved by a rule that one party or the other carries the burden of proof. If the party who bears the burden of proof fails to discharge it, a value of zero is returned and the fact is treated as not having happened. If he does discharge it, a value of one is returned and the fact is treated as having happened. The only practical way in which to reach a factual conclusion in a civil case is to decide whether it is more likely than not that the event occurred. 
                                                                                                                                        Lord Hoffmann, House of Lords, UK
                             5.3.  The Committee has three options:
                                   5.3.1.  confirm the decision/recommendation of the Registrar
                                   5.3.2.  overturn the decision/recommendation of the Registrar
                                   5.3.3.  vary the decision/recommendation of the Registrar

6.      Reporting the Decision
                     6.1.  In a timely manner, the Committee will provide, a written decision
                             containing the following elements, to the appellant, the Registrar and
                             the Minister of Education:

                           6.1.1.  introduction – including the jurisdiction of the Committee to
                              make judgment

                           6.1.2.  the issues to be decided
                           6.1.3.  background/facts
                           6.1.4.  position of the parties
                           6.1.5.  analysis of each issue and the Committee’s conclusion, issue by issue
                           6.1.6.  conclusion – the Committee’s decision and consequences.
                      6.2.  In order to render prompt decisions and reasons, the Committee shall,
                              unless the Committee determines otherwise in the circumstances of a                               
​                              particular case, utilize the following process:

                            6.2.1.  deliberate and, where feasible, reach a preliminary decision on
​                                       the day that the hearing is concluded or the day after the
                                       hearing is concluded;

                            6.2.2.  assign one member of the Committee to write the first draft of
                                       the decision and reasons;

                            6.2.3.  agree upon a specified time period for the first draft to be
                                      written, which shall usually not be more than 14 days afterwards;

                            6.2.4.  the assigned member shall then circulate the first draft to the
                                       other members of the Committee who will comment on the draft
                                       reasons promptly;

                             6.2.5.  If the Committee needs to reassemble, it may be in person, by
                                        phone or videoconference, at a time available to all members of
                                        the Committee.

                             6.2.6.  The goal is to release the written final decision and reasons
                                        within one month from the conclusion of the hearing.

                      6.3.  Failing to comply with the process, adding additional steps to the
                              process, adopting a different process or failing to release the final
                              decision and reasons within one months does not affect the validity of
​                              the decision and reasons. 
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