BC teacher who kissed student gets 15 year ban

A BC teacher who kissed a student after they'd been drinking on the day of their graduation has been barred from teaching for 15 years.

According to a BC Commissioner for Teacher Regulation decision, the teacher had been teaching for more than 30 years, when they kissed the student on the lips.

The teaching regulator doesn't identify the teacher's name or say where they taught in BC. The citation also doesn't say what sex either the teacher or the student are.

The decision said in the summer of 2022 the teacher's adult children, who were all over 19, were having a party at the teacher's house. The unnamed student was also at the party and was not of legal drinking age although had consumed alcohol.

The teacher arrived home after being out for dinner and found the party going on in their home.

At some point the teacher, who didn't know the student had been drinking, kissed the student on the lips.

"This was photographed and circulated on social media," the decision read.

The teacher promptly resigned.

The student was described as "vulnerable" and the party happened on the night of their graduation.

The incident was reported to the regulator and the teacher signed a consent agreement admitting to the conduct.

The regulator issued a 15-year-long ban on the teacher applying for registration.

"The teacher endangered the emotional safety of (the) student," the Commissioner said in the decision, adding that the teacher's conduct was a "part of a pattern of boundary issues." 

No other information was given in the decision.

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