California to Criminalize Student-Teacher Relationships

An 18-year-old student having a sexual relationship with a teacher isn’t illegal in California now, but that could all change. Fox News is reporting that a new bill announced Monday would make it a felony for a teacher and student to have such a relationship, and would result in the teacher being stripped of their pension and health care benefits.

According to MSNBC, Assemblywomen Kristen Olsen-R introduced the bill in response to the highly publicized relationship of Jordan Powers, 18, and James Hooker, 41, her teacher before Hooker resigned in February. Hookers and Powers are now living together, after Hooker left his wife, and have appeared on many national talk shows to discuss their relationship.

Multiple sources, including the Los Angeles Times, are reporting that Hooker and Powers are maintaining that their relationship did not manifest until Powers tuned 18. Jordan’s mother Tammie Powers is trying to gather evidence that the relationship began before her daughter was 18, and she has over 8,000 text messages and e-mails between her daughter and her former teacher.

ABC News is reporting that if this bill is passed; California would join 23 other states that have made teacher-student relationships illegal. The bill would also make it illegal for sexually explicit e-mails, text messages, and phone calls, and Tammie Powers is said to have proof that this was going on before he daughter turned 18.

Powers has been touring the country trying to voice the story of her daughter and prevent other parents from experiencing what she is going through, According to Fox News, Powers has received more than 5,000 e-mails from parents concerned their child could be in a similar situation.

Earlier this month, MSNBC is reporting that Tammie Powers confronted Hooker on “The Dr. Phil Show” and accused him of brainwashing her daughter.

In an even stranger twist, Fox News is reporting that while Powers dropped out of Enochs High School in Sacramento, Hooker’s 17-year-old daughter is still a student. ABC News, however, is reporting that Hooker’s daughter is no longer a student. And while this bill would make it a felony for a student and teacher to engage in a sexual affair, it only applies if they are members of the same school. 

Photo by: EronsPics - 2008