Reply #50: No

[jberryhill]

Colleges set their own rules on that kind of thing.

College is also voluntary.

Now, in some states, the public school's obligation to enroll a student ends at a certain age.

However, parents are legally obligated to educate their children, and if they do not home school or pay for a private school, then they are going to suffer a legal problem if they do not send their child to the state-provided public school. Likewise, the child is going to be in the juvie system for truancy. So, when that 17 year old started her senior year, she was legally compelled to be there.

That is why I raise the prison guard analogy.

Nobody has to send their kids to college, and nobody is required to attend.

Most colleges do have rules on that kind of thing. Some of those rule sets are better than others, and some are better enforced than others.

But, at the end of the day, you will find that most states have specific laws addressing what happened here. That is a social decision which has been made and reflected in the law that was enforced here. If the teacher believed the law to be incorrect, the teacher, and you, can seek to have that law changed. Violating it is not a good course of action for that purpose.

If this person found a conflict between his emotions and the requirements of his profession, he could have stopped teaching when he realized there was going to be a conflict. That would also be a proper course of action.

Here's one that will knock you for a loop - lawyers. In quite a few states lawyers are not allowed to engage in a sexual relationship with a client unless that relationship pre-existed the attorney-client relationship. Again, it is not about age or consent, it is about a professional position that may be compromised by a sexual relationship.