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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Sex "Senioritis" To Be Reclassified As a Sexually Transmitted Disease

Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 1:24 PM

The Washington Court of Appeals ruled today that it isn't illegal for high-school teachers to have sex with 18 year-old students.

Comments (25) RSS

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Whoo-Hoo!!! Teaching degree, here I come!

Posted by Urgutha Forka on January 13, 2009 at 1:29 PM

That's the best thing about teaching high school girls...I keep getting older, but they stay the same age.

Posted by Prof. David Wooderson on January 13, 2009 at 1:32 PM

Seems reasonable since eighteen year olds can legally give consent. I wonder if this impacts school policy about limiting relationships between students and faculty? The company I work for imagines that they can regulate relationships between employees, but we all get a laugh out of that one. I am violating that policy as I write this.

Posted by Heather on January 13, 2009 at 1:37 PM

This'll be the best prom ever!

Posted by Mr. Hand on January 13, 2009 at 1:38 PM

Whaaaaaaaa??

Posted by Miss Foot on January 13, 2009 at 1:44 PM

State education policy dictates that a teacher cannot have any relations with a student until 18 months after graduation. They call it the anti-grooming law. Automatic grounds for dismissal.

Posted by Rotten666 on January 13, 2009 at 1:45 PM

@3 Way to stick it to Hardees!

Posted by gillsans on January 13, 2009 at 1:47 PM

Teachers will get fired but won't face criminal charges. Sorry, Mr. Wooderson.

Posted by Kem on January 13, 2009 at 1:48 PM

That was a fun article, but I liked this one better:

Pilot likely faked his death in crash

Posted by Greg on January 13, 2009 at 1:50 PM

Well, not to be controversial for the sake of being controversial, but WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH TWO CONSENTING ADULTS having consentual sex? Come on, Mr. "I'm liberal about sex" - gimme your best shot.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty on January 13, 2009 at 1:51 PM

As we've seen many times, crossing the legal line is sometimes different than an ethical breach.

Posted by Bauhaus on January 13, 2009 at 1:54 PM

Did I say it was wrong?

Posted by Dan Savage on January 13, 2009 at 2:00 PM

Dan,
Hmm? That's a interesting decision handed down by the WA Court of Appeals. Seems OK. I read this article this morning:

http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm…

What fascinated me was his observation regarding the age of consent. Check it out.

Posted by lark on January 13, 2009 at 2:01 PM

I do think it's wrong, though. Positions of authority, violation of trust, crap like that. I just didn't say it.

Posted by Dan Savage on January 13, 2009 at 2:07 PM

In remote, rural communities, they've turned a blind eye to this for years...

Posted by michael strangeways on January 13, 2009 at 2:17 PM

Not to mention that teachers could use their positions of power to coerce a student into sexual situations. While I think great care must be taken in creating laws that limit sex between consenting adults, there should definitely be policy in place within the school systems to prevent such abuses.

Posted by Rob on January 13, 2009 at 2:21 PM

I know all us guys wished our English teacher in my highschool hadn't gotten married - reflecting back I think she was maybe 24 and we were 16 ... dang, why do seniors get all the fun?

Posted by Will in Seattle on January 13, 2009 at 2:25 PM

But....I was just 17 when I graduated! :(

Posted by wallydanger on January 13, 2009 at 2:29 PM

Well, at least a tiny step in the right direction. Not that I necessarily think it's an ethical thing to do. I just don't think we should be throwing consenting adults in jail. Under any circumstance. Including prostitution. We spend vast resources telling adults what they can't do with each other. Ridiculous!

Posted by Vince on January 13, 2009 at 3:21 PM

Separate but equal is inherently unequal.

Let everyone drink from the same fountain.

Posted by End Sexual Inequality! on January 13, 2009 at 3:23 PM

18 isn't a minor. Why would it be illegal? A firing offense for sure. Loosing certification as a teacher. That surely. But 18 isn't a minor. There are two offenses in most of these teacher-student stories. The first is the age of consent issue, which not only teachers can be locked up for but youth pastors among others. Then there is the offense against the teacher-student relationship which a teacher can violate in a lot of ways that aren't necessarily illegal but should surely be actionable by the school.

Adults should keep their hands off of kids. Teachers should keep their hands off of their students at any age. But one of those isn't necessarily illegal. Just immoral.

Posted by Bruce Garrett on January 13, 2009 at 4:16 PM

Even if the student is above the AOC I think it's still wrong and teachers who fuck students should be fired. There's an imbalance of power in teacher/student relationships and legalizing sex between 18 year olds and their teachers makes the teacher's power easier to abuse.

Posted by east coaster on January 13, 2009 at 4:35 PM

I think Missouri has a law specifically about teacher/student relations. I think its a fair law.

Sounds like Washington just doesn't have one, and some asshat prosecutor tried to pretend it did.

Posted by Ian on January 13, 2009 at 6:21 PM

Wrong and illegal are two different things, The Court of Appeals did not say what the teacher did is OK with them; an appeals court doesn't have the jurisdiction to make that decision. All they can do is interpret what the law says-if you want to change it, talk to the state legislature. Otherwise you go down that whole activist judges path.

Posted by ferretrick on January 13, 2009 at 7:15 PM

#13 - I just checked out your link. This guy writes even worse than Charles Mudede!

Posted by anon on January 14, 2009 at 9:40 AM