B.C. teacher who kissed student at house party banned for 15 years

A B.C. instructor who kissed a student at a party being hosted at their house won't be able to teach for 15 years.

The incident was detailed in the summary of a consent agreement between the instructor and the B.C. Commissioner for Teacher Regulation.

According to that summary, which was posted online Tuesday, the unnamed high school teacher was first certified more than 30 years ago. Their certification was suspended in September 2022, after the district filed a report against them.

The summary explained the teacher's children – who are over the age of 19 – hosted a party on the day of a local high school's graduation. Some of the people attending the party were university students, who were of legal drinking age. But at least one student had just graduated from that local high school. The student, only identified as Student A, drank alcohol at the party.

According to the summary, the teacher was out for dinner and returned home after the party began.

"While the teacher knew that there was alcohol present at the party, the teacher was not aware that Student A was drinking," the summary said. "At one point, the teacher kissed Student A on the lips. This was photographed and circulated on social media."

The teacher resigned from the district, the summary said, and entered into a consent resolution agreement with the commissioner. As part of the agreement, the teacher admitted their behaviour amounted to professional misconduct and agreed to the cancellation of their teaching certificate, along with a 15-year ban on applying for reinstatement.

While determining a 15-year ban was "an appropriate consequence," the commissioner considered that the teacher "endangered the emotional safety" of the student, the summary said. The commissioner noted that the teacher's conduct was "part of a pattern of boundary issues."