PREP Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2635 To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an Office of Correctional Education, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 9, 2019 Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself and Ms. DEAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an Office of Correctional Education, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Reentry 4 Through Education in Prisons Act of 2019’’ or the 5 ‘‘PREP Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2635 IH (1) Over the course of an 8-year-period fol- 1 lowing the release of individuals from Federal pris- 2 ons, the United States Sentencing Commission 3 found that 49.3 percent of such individuals were re- 4 arrested, 31.7 percent were reconvicted, and 24.6 5 percent were reincarcerated. 6 (2) The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 7 over a similar time period as described in paragraph 8 (1), 83 percent of people released from State prisons 9 were rearrested. 10 (3) A broad spectrum of correctional education 11 programming can prepare individuals for the con- 12 temporary workforce pre-release, ensuring that upon 13 release the individuals are best situated to be pro- 14 ductive members of their communities. 15 (4) Education for people in prisons has a clear 16 public safety benefit, reducing recidivism rates by 17 over 43 percent. 18 (5) Employment is 13 percent higher for indi- 19 viduals who participated in either academic or voca- 20 tional programs in prison, and 28 percent higher for 21 individuals who participated in vocational programs 22 alone. 23 (6) During the first 3 years after an individual 24 is released, each dollar spent on funding prison edu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2635 IH cation programs reduces incarceration costs by 4 to 1 5 dollars. 2 (7) Correctional education helps to improve the 3 safety of the prison environment, not only for incar- 4 cerated individuals, but also for correctional officers 5 and prison staff. 6 (8) A 2016 analysis of the Bureau of Prisons 7 education programs found that the Bureau of Pris- 8 ons spends 20 percent as much on inmate education 9 as the nearest sized State prison systems and experi- 10 ences a proportionally low return. 11 (9) The 2016 analysis described in paragraph 12 (8) also found that the Bureau of Prisons lacked the 13 staff, programmatic strategy and alignment, budget, 14 assessment, and educational support to effectively 15 administer educational programs. 16 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 17 a dedicated office within the Bureau of Prisons to— 18 (1) improve the correctional educational pro- 19 gramming provided by the Bureau of Prisons; 20 (2) ensure access to quality programs across all 21 Federal penal and correctional institutions; 22 (3) create partnerships with education providers 23 to offer quality programs; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2635 IH (4) create a repository of research and best 1 practices to State and local correctional institutions. 2 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this Act: 4 (1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Assist- 5 ant Director’’ means the Assistant Director for Cor- 6 rectional Education appointed under section 4142(b) 7 of title 18, United States Code, as added by this 8 Act. 9 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 10 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 11 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION. 12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of title 18, United States 13 Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 307 the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘CHAPTER 308—EDUCATION 16 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘4141. Definitions. ‘‘4142. Office of Correctional Education. ‘‘4143. Federal Correctional Education Program. ‘‘§ 4141. Definitions 17 ‘‘In this chapter: 18 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Assist- 19 ant Director’ means the Assistant Director for Cor- 20 rectional Education appointed under section 21 4142(b). 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2635 IH ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 1 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 2 ‘‘(3) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 3 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri- 4 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5 12102). 6 ‘‘(4) HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.—The term ‘high 7 school diploma’ has the meaning given the term in 8 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu- 9 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 10 ‘‘§ 4142. Office of Correctional Education 11 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this chapter are 12 to— 13 ‘‘(1) ensure that all Federal penal and correc- 14 tional institutions provide quality educational pro- 15 grams for incarcerated individuals; 16 ‘‘(2) be a nationwide repository for research, 17 policies, and best practices in correctional education; 18 and 19 ‘‘(3) offer training and technical assistance for 20 State prison systems. 21 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF CORREC- 22 TIONAL EDUCATION.—The Director shall establish within 23 the Bureau of Prisons an Office of Correctional Edu- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2635 IH cation, which shall be headed by an Assistant Director for 1 Correctional Education appointed by the Director. 2 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL 3 EDUCATION.—The Office of Correctional Education re- 4 quired to be established under this section shall ensure 5 the provision of educational services for incarcerated indi- 6 viduals in all Federal penal and correctional institutions, 7 including programs such as adult literacy, basic skills de- 8 velopment, education toward a regular high school diploma 9 or its recognized equivalent, postsecondary education, 10 workforce development, that leads to an industry-recog- 11 nized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree, pre- 12 apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships, career and 13 technical education, and expanded opportunities for indi- 14 viduals with a disability, including by— 15 ‘‘(1) implementing the Federal Correctional 16 Education Program under section 4143; 17 ‘‘(2) coordinating and standardizing quality, 18 evidence-based, and effective education programs 19 and services across all Federal penal and correc- 20 tional institutions; 21 ‘‘(3) coordinating relevant Federal agencies in 22 providing quality educational services, including by 23 consulting with the Office of Career, Technical, and 24 Adult Education of the Department of Education; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2635 IH ‘‘(4) coordinating with the Secretary of Vet- 1 erans Affairs to identify and provide information to 2 incarcerated veterans regarding potential eligibility 3 for educational assistance under laws administered 4 by the Secretary, including educational assistance 5 under chapters 30 and 33 of title 38, United States 6 Code; 7 ‘‘(5) conducting research and issuing reports on 8 correctional education best practices, particularly as 9 it relates to pedagogy and instruction of incarcerated 10 people; 11 ‘‘(6) providing training and technical assistance 12 for State prison systems to improve correctional edu- 13 cation; and 14 ‘‘(7) coordinating with the Bureau of Justice 15 Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, National 16 Center for Education Statistics, the National Insti- 17 tute of Corrections, and other relevant agencies as 18 designated by the Assistant Director in collecting 19 and reporting Federal and State data on— 20 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals who enroll 21 in and complete a correctional education pro- 22 gram, including a career and technical edu- 23 cation sequence, earn a regular high school di- 24 ploma or its recognized equivalent, or enroll in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2635 IH and earn a postsecondary degree or certificate, 1 while incarcerated; 2 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals who do not 3 complete an education program described in 4 subparagraph (A) and the reasons for non-com- 5 pletion; 6 ‘‘(C) any State or Federal prohibitions or 7 limitations on employment for individuals with 8 felony convictions; 9 ‘‘(D) the correlation between participating 10 in or completing a program described in sub- 11 paragraph (A) and continued educational en- 12 rollment, both in-custody and post-release; 13 ‘‘(E) the correlation between participating 14 in and completing a program described in sub- 15 paragraph (A) with post-release outcomes, in- 16 cluding job placement, job retention, and recidi- 17 vism; 18 ‘‘(F) the correlation between participating 19 in and completing a program described in sub- 20 paragraph (A) with in-custody outcomes, in- 21 cluding enrollment in other education or train- 22 ing programs and reduction in citations; 23 ‘‘(G) the impact of the correlation de- 24 scribed in subparagraphs (C) and (D) on over- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2635 IH all corrections spending through factors such 1 as— 2 ‘‘(i) impacts on recidivism; 3 ‘‘(ii) spending on Federal penal and 4 correctional institutions and State prisons; 5 and 6 ‘‘(iii) other relevant factors; and 7 ‘‘(H) other relevant data. 8 ‘‘§ 4143. Federal Correctional Education Program 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATED EFFECTIVENESS.—The 11 term ‘demonstrated effectiveness’ means the past ef- 12 fectiveness of an eligible provider demonstrated by 13 providing— 14 ‘‘(A) performance data on its record of im- 15 proving the skills of eligible students, particu- 16 larly eligible individuals who have low levels of 17 literacy, in the content domains of reading, 18 writing, mathematics, English language acquisi- 19 tion, and other relevant subject areas; and 20 ‘‘(B) information regarding its outcomes 21 for participants related to program completion, 22 employment attainment, pursuit of additional 23 education, and other relevant factors. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2635 IH ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER.—The term ‘eligible 1 provider’ means an organization that has dem- 2 onstrated effectiveness in providing programs such 3 as adult literacy, basic skills development, education 4 toward a regular high school diploma or its recog- 5 nized equivalent, postsecondary education, workforce 6 readiness, apprenticeships, career and technical edu- 7 cation, and programing individuals with learning dis- 8 abilities, which may include— 9 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education; 10 ‘‘(B) a local educational agency; 11 ‘‘(C) a community-based organization or 12 faith-based organization; 13 ‘‘(D) a volunteer literacy organization; 14 ‘‘(E) a public or private nonprofit agency; 15 ‘‘(F) a nonprofit institution that is not de- 16 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) and 17 has the ability to provide adult education and 18 literacy activities to eligible individuals; 19 ‘‘(G) a consortium or coalition of the agen- 20 cies, organizations, and institutions described in 21 any of subparagraphs (A) through (F); and 22 ‘‘(H) a partnership between an employer 23 and an entity described in any of subpara- 24 graphs (A) through (G). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2635 IH ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 1 student’ means an individual who is incarcerated in 2 a Federal correctional facility. 3 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 4 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 5 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 6 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 7 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 8 the Federal Correctional Education Program re- 9 quired to be established under subsection (b)(1). 10 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.— 11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Director 12 shall establish a Federal Correctional Education 13 Program to develop and support partnerships be- 14 tween eligible providers and Federal correctional fa- 15 cilities to provide quality educational opportunities 16 to facilitate successful community reintegration. 17 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.— 18 The Assistant Director shall select eligible providers 19 to partner with Federal correctional facilities to de- 20 velop quality programs for eligible students, which 21 shall include correctional education programs, such 22 as— 23 ‘‘(A) adult literacy; 24 ‘‘(B) basic skills development; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:41 May 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2635.IH H2635 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 2635 IH ‘‘(C) education toward a regular high 1 school diploma or its recognized equivalent; 2 ‘‘(D) postsecondary education; 3 ‘‘(E) workforce development that leads to 4 an industry recognized credential, a certificate, 5 or an associate degree; 6 ‘‘(F) apprenticeships; and 7 ‘‘(G) career and technical education. 8 ‘‘(3) QUALITY PROGRAMS.—When determining 9 which eligible providers will be selected for participa- 10 tion in the Program, the Assistant Director shall— 11 ‘‘(A) consider the evidence that an eligible 12 provider demonstrates a strong record on stu- 13 dent outcomes and successful community re- 14 integration that shall include— 15 ‘‘(i) high rates of program completion; 16 ‘‘(ii) a demonstrated record of a re- 17 duction in recidivism rates, if avai [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]