Establishes the commission on post-secondary correctional education

2 Co-sponsors

• Kevin S. Parker
• John L. Sampson

BILL NUMBER:S974 REVISED 01/10/2011

Title of bill

An act to establish a commission on post-secondary correctional education; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

Purpose

This bill establishes a commission to study and make recommendations to the legislature and the governor regarding the availability and effectiveness of post-secondary correctional education programs in prison.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill contains legislative findings that demonstrates the need for a commission on post-secondary correctional education and includes relevant statistical information.

Section 2 of the bill establishes the commission to be known as the New York State Commission on Post-secondary Correctional Education. The commission will consider a number of issues including the benefits of post-secondary correctional education, the impact of post-secondary correctional education on the offender recidivism and prison safety and security, and recommendations about the need, if any, to expand postsecondary education programs in prison.

Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the bill provide for the manner of appointments to the commission and specifics about the commission's operational structure.

Section 6 of the bill requires the commission to make a report to the governor and the legislature no later than one year after the effective date.

Section 7 is the effective date.

Justification

Studies have consistently found that the higher the level of education attained, the more likely a former inmate will be to obtain gainful and stable employment and the less likely he or she will be to engage in future criminal activity. However, in 1994, federal tuition assistance, in the form of Pell Grants, for individuals incarcerated in federal and state correctional facilities was terminated with the enactment of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Then, in 1995, New York prohibited inmates from accessing state funds through the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for post-secondary correctional education.

According to a report published by the correctional Association of New York in January, 2009, entitled "Education From the Inside, Out; The Multiple Benefits of College programs in prison," only four out of

seventy post-secondary correctional education programs continued to operate in New York following the termination of TAP availability for inmates.

The benefits of post-secondary correctional educational have been we"documented. Most recently, the New York State Commission on sentencing Reform recently reported that post-secondary correctional education programs have been shown to reduce recidivism by up to 40% and the commission recommended that more post-secondary educational opportunities be made available to inmates.

However, identifying the resource (both private and public) necessary to expand post-secondary education in prison is challenging, particularly in this tough economic time. Therefore, the commission established by this bill would be tasked with examining the existing poet-secondary educational opportunities in prison documenting the benefits of such programs and making recommendations for possible expansion.

Legislative history

Senate 2009-10: S.5685 - Referred to Finance

Assembly 2009-10: A.8552 (Aubry) - Referred to Ways and Means

Fiscal implications

Minimal.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act will take effect immediately and be repealed one year after such effective date.