Gov. Linda Lingle has signed into law a bill enabling the Hawaii Teacher Standards Board to suspend the teacher's license of a teacher convicted of a sexual offense.

Until now, misbehaving teachers could be fired. But they retained their licenses, meaning there was little to stop them from getting jobs elsewhere.

The board oversees the state's 12,000 active licensed teachers.

Across the country, sexual misconduct allegations led states to take action against the licenses of 2,570 educators from 2001 through 2005. The cases includes licenses that were revoked, denied and surrendered.

Licenses are often required when teachers move from one state to another. If a teacher's license hasn't been revoked, there's little stopping her or him from starting over.