The Teacher Regulation Branch of the Ministry of Education administers professional regulation for more than 68,000 certified educators in BC. The Branch was created in January 2012 as part of the implementation of the Teachers Act, which brought in a new system to certify, regulate, and discipline teachers through shared responsibility between government and the educational sector. In this hybrid regulatory model, statutory authority over different aspects of teacher regulation is exercised by the BC Teachers Council, the Director of Certification, the Commissioner for Teacher Regulation, and hearing panels established under the Act.