You may have heard stories of people who have ended up in intimate student-teacher relationships. When a story like this surfaces, it usually hits the news feeds quickly and usually results in the teacher being prosecuted, placed on a register, and losing their jobs. However, is this always going to be the case?
Today, we’re going to look into whether a student-teacher romantic relationship will ever be okay. In your head now, you may be thinking of situations where it could be thanks to some of the variables, so let’s dive in and clear up any grey areas that may exist.
The Short Answer
No, basically. A student to teacher relationship will never be legally okay in the US. Looking at the facts and the law, anybody needs to be at least over the age of 18 to even legally consent to be in a relationship with an adult. This means all traditional student ages from pre-school up to the college ages of 18 will be illegal. This is because there are never teachers under the age of 18, meaning they are all adults.
This means that a romantic relationship between a teacher and student under the age of 18 is a criminal offense and can be charged with sexual abuse or a crime of a similar nature, and cases will require sex crime lawyers who offer effective representation.
This is important to note because some students may want a relationship and will spread they are in one with a teacher, even if they are not. However, despite being a lie, these cases are taken very seriously and will need to be dealt with properly through the approaching court of law processes.
What If the Student is Over 18?
If both the teacher and the student are over the age of 18, then both are able to legally consent to be in a relationship with one another by law. However, many schools and educational facilities will have policies and codes of conduct that prevent this from happening.
Whether you’re a teacher or student, you need to check the policy of the school you’re in to ensure you’re not breaking the rules. If you do, this can result in the teacher losing their job and the student being expelled. Remember, student-teacher relationships do not just affect the people in the relationship.
Any dramas in the relationship may spread around the school and can cause many problems within friend groups. Imagine a female student breaking up with her male teacher partner and the teacher exacting revenge by failing the student and making her life a misery.
Imagine the other students who think that the preferred partner has an unfair advantage against all the other students due to favoritism. It’s a complex subject with many variables, and in most cases, should simply be avoided at all costs.
Summary
As you can see, there are many grey areas as to whether a student and a teacher can get together or not, and extreme caution should be taken if approaching a situation like this. While at the discretion of the people involved, it takes time to think about the issues first, and this is a highly advised thing to do.