A B.C. teacher who was photographed kissing a student on their graduation night has been banned from the profession for 15 years.
The B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation released the discipline decision on Tuesday (May 21), but chose to withhold the teacher’s name and school in order to protect the student’s identity.
In its decision, the regulator said the student ended up at their teacher’s house on the night of their graduation in 2022 because the teacher’s children were throwing a party.
The children and some of their friends were of legal drinking age, but the new grad was not. Despite that, they drank some alcohol while at the party.
Their teacher was out at dinner for the first part of the night and said they didn’t know the underage student had been drinking. At some point when they arrived back to their home though, the teacher kissed the student on the lips. The act was photographed by someone at the party and circulated on social media.
The B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation described the student as “vulnerable” and said the teacher endangered their “emotional safety.” The regulator added that the kissing incident was part of a pattern of documented boundary issues by the teacher.
The teacher resigned following the circulating of the photo. They later admitted their misconduct and agreed to a 15-year teaching ban.
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