SPENCER — A Roane County High School teacher’s state certification has been suspended for a year following multiple school-level suspensions for inappropriate behavior.

West Virginia Superintendent Steven Paine signed the order Dec. 13 suspending the teaching certification of Michael L. Burch for one year. The suspension begins Jan. 2 and Burch will have to complete professional development training and apply for reinstatement when the suspension ends.

Burch has taught science at Roane County High since 2004, and prior to that was a teacher at Spencer Middle School as well as briefly at Gilmer County High School in Gilmer County. He also has worked at schools in Putnam and Cabell counties.

A state hearing was held in July concerning Burch’s conduct. In a 21-page document released in late November, officials outlined multiple suspensions and complaints of inappropriate behavior with students.

In the document, state officials say Burch “has engaged in a practice of making inappropriate comments during class time, usually of a sexual nature, and inappropriate touching of students for which he has been suspended on four occasions.”

In the report, officials noted the physical contact was not sexual in nature, but was often inappropriate or unwanted roughhousing with students or inappropriate contact while disciplining students. Burch also shared photos of nudists with students that he’d taken while on a trip in Germany, which Burch said was supposed to be a teaching moment but reflected “poor judgment” on his part.

According to the document, Burch “has had several circumstances of questionable conduct. The evidence shows that (Burch) was warned about physical contact with students as far back as 1999, yet he persisted in what he termed his ‘hands-on’ approach to teaching. (Burch) was suspended from employment for two days in 1999, five days in 2011, 10 days in January 2017 and 10 days in October 2017 and arrested for battery in November 2017 (Editor’s note: Those charges were dismissed in February 2018). Additionally, he was disciplined for inappropriate comments or actions in 2011, January 2017 and October 2017.”

During the hearing, Burch corroborated many of the accounts of events, but argued the people involved overreacted or misunderstood intent. He also disputed some accusations entirely. However, in the report, officials said enough of the claims could be verified by both Burch and his accusers to warrant the suspension.

Burch “did unnecessarily physically touch his students, brought and showed inappropriate material to his students, participated in inappropriate horse-play, and used inappropriate analogies as part of his lesson plans,” according to the report. “Despite the consequences over almost 20 years of his career, (Burch) seems to continually minimize his actions or shift blame for his admonishments on students, parents, or even administrators instead of accepting that he has made various students in different classes, different years and different school systems feel uncomfortable, angry and/or powerless.”

Burch could not be reached for comment.