After leading the charge to scuttle an educator’s ethics bill it described as too vague, the Alabama Education Association is throwing its support behind another ethics code and a bill that would call for the immediate termination of convicted felons.
According to the AEA’s Alabama School Journal, the AEA is supporting Alabama House Bill 37, which would call for the immediate firing of any teacher convicted of a Class A felony. The bill was introduced after a school board in Washington County chose not to fire a teacher after she was convicted of a felony, allowing her to continue to draw pay and benefits while she was jailed.
According to the AEA, the bill removes any ambiguities concerning the termination status of teachers who are convicted of serious felonies.
HB 37 is sponsored by Rep. Chad Fincher, R-Semmes.
The AEA is also supporting a code of ethics sponsored by the Legislative Council that it says is more detailed and tougher than the one proposed by the Alabama Board of Education and supported by Gov. Bob Riley.
The AEA opposed a resolution that would have adopted a code of ethics approved by the Alabama Board of Education into the state’s administrative code, giving it more teeth. The AEA argued that the code was flawed, in that its definitions of unethical conduct were too vague and adoption of the code would have led to lawsuits and witchhunts.
That code was rejected by the Legislature. Gov. Bob Riley sought to veto the resolution rejecting the code, but was overridden by the House and Senate.
District 2 Alabama Board of Education member Betty Peters says she has yet to read the code of ethics being supported by the AEA, but fears that it won’t be as tough on unethical conduct by educators as the guidelines set forth by the state board of education.
“From what I understand, it’s watered down, that’s the impression I got.”
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