Sand Springs Schools Examines Policies In Wake Of Teacher Rape Charge

A Sand Springs teacher was arrested last week, accused of rape for having sex with a 17-year old male student. Erin Queen teaches English at Charles Page High School.

03/18/2012 Related Story: Sand Springs Teacher Arrested For First Degree Rape

The school district is looking at this incident in an effort to prevent future ones.

The campus is quiet at Charles Page High School this week - as students and teachers here finish up their spring break. But the break began with startling news.

"When I got that call that we'd had one of our teachers that was going be charged with first degree rape, that's about as bad as it gets," said Lloyd Snow

Tulsa Police say they caught Erin Queen with one of her 17-year-old students at the Candlewood Suites on East 73rd Street - after his parents tipped off police.

Police say Queen admitted to having sex with the student. School administrators say there were no signs of an inappropriate relationship.

"Absolutely none at all, I can't even tell you how still shocked I am really, quite candidly, not at all," Snow said.

As the shock wears off, Superintendent Lloyd Snow says the next step is to evaluate how the district monitors relationships between students and teachers.

Twice a month Snow meets with school leaders to address similar issues.

"One of the first three things on that standing agenda is safety and relationships and the kind of relationships that are healthy and the kind of relationships that are harmful," Snow said.

There's also the question of social media and its role inside and outside the classroom. Right now, there is no hard-fast policy in place at Sand Springs. But more of an honor system that school employees and students alike, will do the right thing.

"Use caution, you better be careful, you better be responsible and you better be ready to suffer the consequences," Snow said.

And for now, Queen will suffer the consequences. She has been suspended with pay while the investigation continues.

A number of local school districts do have policies on social networking between teachers and students. Claremore, for instance, has banned teachers from "friending" students on Facebook, and prohibits staff from using other social networking sites to communicate with students on a personal level.