MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A state representative from Semmes has started drafting legislation that would end pay for teachers who are convicted of felonies or crimes involving children.

Under the proposal from Republican state Rep. Chad Fincher, those teachers would immediately be fired upon conviction and they would lose their pay.

Fincher said the bill was inspired by the case of former Washington County teacher Charlene Schmitz, who is in federal prison and continues to draw pay more than a year after she was convicted of luring a student for sex.

Under Alabama's teacher tenure act, those who appeal their firings get arbitration hearings and pay must continue until the abribtrator rules. But teachers who are accused of crimes can't have those hearings until all criminal proceedings are done.

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Information compiled by AP from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister

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