A Dunedin teacher has had her registration cancelled after she had a sexual relationship with a Year 13 pupil.
Toni Finch was a teacher at Kings High School when she began the relationship with the pupil last year, a decision from the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal said.
Ms Finch then resigned from the school.
The pupil has name suppression.
The Tribunal said her actions were "serious misconduct".
The Tribunal decision said "serious misconduct" as defined by the Education Act 1989 meant conduct that adversely affected or was likely to adversely affect the well-being or learning of one or more children, reflects adversely on the teacher's fitness to be a teacher, and is of a character and severity that meets the Education Council's criteria for reporting serious misconduct.
"We are satisfied that the respondent's behaviour has the potential to engage all three criteria. However, since we do not know what effect it had on the student, we cannot conclude that the respondent's conduct adversely affected his well-being or learning.
"The long settled position is that for a teacher to have a sexual relationship with a student at the school at which he or she teaches is serious misconduct at a high level."
"The appropriate penalties are censure, cancellation of Ms Finch's registration to teach and annotation of the teachers' register," the tribunal ruled.
It ordered Ms Finch to pay 40% of the costs the Complaints Assessment Committee incurred bringing the charge against her.
