Establishes a general education equivalency and higher education program in state correctional facilities

The department will ensure that academic education programs include appropriate curriculum and certified academic staff for general equivalency and college credit instruction. Further, the department will assure that such programs are available at all correctional facilities. A classroom ratio of 20 inmates per instructor shall be present, in order to offer a competitive learning environment. The Commissioner, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Education will set up the educational requirements for the certification of teachers in all correctional facilities.

The Commissioner shall also plan for implementation of the general equivalency and college credit programs and will issue a report within twelve months after the effective date of this subdivision.

Justification

Data collected by the federal government show that prisoners nationwide are far less educated than the general U.S. population and, before incarceration, were significantly more impoverished (Institute for Higher Education Policy). "Higher Education can improve conditions within correctional facilities, enhance prisoner self-esteem and prospects for employment after release, and function as a cost-effective approach to reducing recidivism. Educating prisoners allows them access to social and economic benefits associated with higher education (ibid)." Educational programs reduce recidivism by increasing an individual's ability to successfully rejoin mainstream society. Education is essential, especially in light of empirical data, which reveals the difficulty that ex-offenders have in gaining employment due to a lack of marketable skills.

As of 1997, only 26% of those in state prisons and 41% of those in federal prisons had graduated from high school GED or high school diploma attainment for state prisoners is only 60%. Moreover, at least 70% of state and federal inmates, who held a GED as of 1997, earned it while in prison. In 1997, only 11% of state prisoners had at least some college education, and only 2% were college graduates. The general population was four to five times more likely to have attended college than were prisoners. Researchers from the Justice Policy Institute have found that as of 2000, 30% more Black men were in prison than enrolled in college.

In 2003, the same researcher concluded that a Black man in his thirties is twice as likely to experience prison as to earn a college degree.

Education reduces violence in prisons. Furthermore, educational programs can break down racial barriers, which in the prison setting are often an underlying cause of disciplinary problems and even violence. At an Indiana prison, a survey showed that those taking classes committed 75% fewer infractions than the average inmate. Consequently, success in the classroom can translate into life success as the correlation between hard work and positive results become more tangible.

Prior legislative history

S.7230 ADAMS Same as A.9811 Peoples Correction Law

03/20/08 Senate: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections 01/22/08 Assembly: Referred to Corrections

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

To be effective on the 120th day after becoming law.