quote:

6:56 p.m. September 29, 2008

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday signed two bills making it tougher for teachers who commit sex crimes to remain in California's public schools.

The new laws close loopholes in California's teacher licensing system that had allowed some teachers accused or even convicted of serious crimes to remain in the classroom.
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Margett's bill closes that loophole, allowing the state to revoke licenses from teachers who plead no contest to certain sex crimes or drug offenses without waiting for a discretionary review that can sometimes take two or three years.

An analysis by the California Teacher Credentialing Commission following AP's report found that about two-thirds of the roughly 90 educators who face revocation or other serious action each year plead no contest to a misdemeanor offense.
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Margett's bill makes the results of investigations into teacher misconduct available for five years instead of being sealed after one year, as they currently are. Some school administrators had complained that they were unable to confirm a teaching candidate's complete record if they learned later that the applicant lied about his or her background.

Both bills passed the Senate and Assembly unanimously.

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The state's largest teachers union, the California Teachers Association, opposed both.