The old saying goes, if you do the crime, you do the time. But how long should people pay for mistakes in their past?

Finger prints and background checks are standard practices for many schools. But new legislation is taking that a step farther for all school administrators, teachers, and teachers assistants by looking back into juvenile records.

"If you have somebody who has committed a serious crime very early in their youth and maybe 20, 25 years has passed and they've had an unblemished record. As a result of this legislation there's a potential for us to have to reach in and say we're sorry you can no longer work in Leon County," says Jim Parry the Chief of Labor and Employee relations for Leon County schools.

And it's not just Leon County, it's the whole state. In Gadsden County school officials say they already had protocols in place that they thought were fair.

"If we find something questionable in their background check we have a committee that reviews the data and recommends for employment or not to hire that person." says Sonja Bridges, Assistant Superintendent for Academic Services in Gadsden.

But this legislation removes the district's discretion. It details a list of offenses that will result in automatic termination. Many relate to sexual misconduct and child abuse, but the offenses also include assault, theft and resisting arrest.

"So right now it's saying that you, in education, you really don't put it behind you because now it's coming back," adds Bridges.

The new legislation goes into effect July first. School officials in Leon County say they'll have to dig deeper into the records of nearly three 3,000 school employees as a result of this bill.

The legislation is the "Ethics in Education Act" Senate Bill 1712.