Office of Teacher Certification

Certification Appeals

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The Registrar/Director - Teacher Certification strongly recommends that recently certified teachers who are dissatisfied with the outcome of a certification decision should contact the Office of Teacher Certification to discuss the decision prior to proceeding with a formal appeal.

The appeals process should determine if the Office of Teacher Certification has applied the Teacher Certification Regulations appropriately. An informal discussion often clarifies issues related to regulatory compliance, policy application and potential for review of a decision before formal appeal.

Appeals Process

As per subsection 17(3) of the Teacher Certification Regulations, an applicant has 180 days from the date of a decision of the Registrar of Teacher Certification to request a review of that decision by the Certification Appeals Committee.

Regulations 16, 17 & 18

  1. The Registrar may refuse to grant the class of teacher’s certificate an applicant applied for if the Registrar has reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant does not meet the requirements specified in these regulations for the granting of the certificate.
  2. If the Registrar refuses an application for a class of teacher’s certificate, the Registrar shall notify the applicant in writing of the refusal and the reasons for the refusal no later than 45 days after the date the Minister received the application.
  3. If the Registrar's refusal is because the applicant's teacher's certificate is suspended or cancelled, then the Registrar is not required to notify the applicant in writing, and the applicant may not request a review of the Registrar's decision under Section 17 of the Teacher Certification Regulations.
  4. A notice under Section 16(3) shall state that the applicant may request a review in accordance with Section 17 and shall specify any written submissions that the Certification Appeals Committee requires for the review.
  5. A request for review must be:
    1. in writing;
    2. accompanied by any written submissions required by the Certification Appeals Committee, as specified in the notice to the applicant in accordance with Section 16(2c); and
    3. received by the Minister no later than 180 days after the date of the notice to the applicant under Section 17(3).
  6. Except as provided in Section 18(1), and subject to Section 18(2), if an applicant requests a review, the Certification Appeals Committee must conduct a review.
  7. The Certification Appeals Committee may refuse to conduct a review if in its opinion the request for review is frivolous, vexatious, an abuse of process, not submitted in accordance with this Section, or outside the jurisdiction of the Committee.
  8. At an applicant’s request, the Certification Appeals Committee may extend the time prescribed in Section 17(3) for requesting a review if it is satisfied that there are apparent grounds for recommending relief and that there are reasonable grounds to grant the extension.
  9. The Certification Appeals Committee shall ensure that both an applicant who requests a review and the Registrar are given at least 14 days in which to examine and to make submissions on any document that the Committee intends to consider when it conducts the review.
  10. The Certification Appeals Committee shall schedule a date for a review on being satisfied of all of the following:
    1. the applicant has complied with the requirements of this Section in requesting the review;
    2. both the applicant and the Registrar have had at least 14 days in which to examine all the documents in accordance with Section 18(2);
    3. the review is one that should proceed according to this Section.
  11. An applicant for whom a review is conducted may attend the review, may be accompanied by another person at the review, or may be represented by another person at the review.
  12. On completing a review, and no later than 10 days after the date the Certification Appeals Committee makes its final decision, the Committee must make a recommendation in writing to the Minister, including its reasons for the recommendation, to do one of the following:
    1. grant the class of teacher’s certificate applied for;
    2. grant the class of teacher’s certificate applied for after the applicant fulfills conditions specified by the Committee, including certain of the requirements specified in these regulations for the granting of the class of certificate applied for;
    3. refuse to grant the class of teacher’s certificate applied for.
  13. The Minister shall consider the recommendation of the Certification Appeals Committee and advise the Committee of the decision of the Minister.
  14. The chair of the Certification Appeals Committee shall notify the applicant of the decision of the Minister by providing the applicant with a copy of the Committee’s recommendation and the Minister’s decision no later than 30 days after the date the Committee makes its recommendation to the Minister.

O.I.C. 2018-104, N.S. Reg. 52/2018.

To request a review, please submit the above noted information to:
Chair
Certification Appeals Committee
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
PO Box 578
Halifax NS  B3J 2S9