Anyone who wants to teach in a public school must possess a valid teaching certificate. This certificate indicates that the teacher has completed an approved training program and meets the professional requirements to be a teacher. But there’s an important question we must ask: Can a concerned parent find out whether a particular teacher has been disciplined for professional misconduct? The answer to this question is… it depends. Some provinces, namely Ontario, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan have publicly searchable registries of all teachers working in their respective provinces. Anyone who wants to find out about a specific teacher merely has to punch a name into the registry’s search engine. Disciplinary decisions, often dating back decades, are easily available. As one would expect, some cases are more serious than others. Examples of teacher misconduct include using inappropriate language, inflicting corporal punishment on students, and engaging in teacher-student sexual relationships. Depending on …