Teacher with porn past placed on leave

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ST. LOUIS, March 9 (UPI) -- A high school science teacher in St. Louis who admitted appearing in porn films before going into education is on administrative leave, school officials said.

Officials said Parkway North High School teacher Tera Myers, 38, was put on leave this week and will not return to her job, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Myers requested the leave after a student approached her about her past, the district said.

Myers had previously been suspended from a Kentucky school district for similar reasons, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Myers was hired to teach at Parkway North after passing standard background and reference checks, the school district said. Because Myers' involvement in the porn industry did not break any laws, it wasn't found in the background checks, a Parkway spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said she was "almost positive" Parkway had contacted Myers' previous school and that the district was not told of the previous suspension or the reason behind it.

In 2006, Myers was suspended from a high school in Paducah, Ky., after a student obtained a copy of an X-rated film she appeared in and showed it to other students.

"Out of respect for her privacy and that of her family, the district has agreed to accept the teacher's request to be placed on administrative leave for the remainder of the school year," a Parkway statement said.

Myers will be paid through the end of the school year.