Educational Programming in Corrections

Benefits of Educational Programming in Prison
* Increases employability
* Reduces return to prison
* Reduces problem behavior during prison



Entering offenders less well educated than general population. Forty percent of state prisoners, 27% of federal prisoners, and 47% of local jail inmates do not have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Only 18% of the general population who are 18 years of age or older did not receive a high school diploma or its equivalent. The graphs below show the level of education attained for the total population of state prisoners, federal prisoners, and jail inmates. Level of attainment defined by BJS as the last completed year of school.


Who is participating in Educational Programs?

Over 50% of state and federal prisoners partticipate in educational programs. Only about 14% of the total local jail population particpate in education programs. This lower number is due to the fact that jail inmates spend less time incarcerated than prison inmates based on the nautre of their sentence. Although majority of prisons and jails mandate that inmates entering without a High School diploma participate in GED classes, only 54% of them do. This primarily due to the fact that facicilties (both jail and prisons) do not offer enough GED prep courses to accommodate the large number of inmate needing to take them. Inmates are put on waiting lists and may miss their opportunity to attain their GED while incarcerated if released before an opening in a class becomes available. This is another reason why local jail inmates have lower particpation in educational courses. Their sentences are short and more variable, if transferred to another facility, making it more difficult to wait for a class to be available. The following graphs give information as to the percentages of inmates in state prisons, federal prisons, and local jails that particpate in educational programs. Please note that the percentages may not total 100% due rounding and percentages taking into account inmates participating in more than one type of education program.

Edcuation


Vocational Training courses are the most popular among state and prison inmates. Conversely, GED/High School courses are the most popular classes among jail inmates. This difference is due to the fact that jail inmates have more access to GED and High School classes because they are incarcerated for a shorter period of time than prison inmates. Vocational training courses are only provided by 7% of local jails compared to 56% of state prisons and 94% of federal prisons. GED and High school level courses are the classes most offered by all correctional institutions for reasons previously discussed.


Correctional Education Helps Reduce Recidivism


A longitudinal study of 3,170 inmates who were released three years prior to start of the study from Maryland, Ohio, and Minnesota were followed to understand factors that influence recidivism. Educational attainment while incarcerated was the study’s main variable. The study found that participation in correctional education courses had the greatest reduction in recidivism overall, up to 22%. The graph below illustrates the study’s main findings. Information is not provided for specific educational courses taken by inmates, just whether or not they completed at least one type of educational course while incarcerated.



Individuals who participated in education courses while incarcerated had the lowest percentages overall of rearrests, reconviction, and reincarcerations. Forty-eight percent of inmates who completed education courses while incarcerated were rearrested within three years of release, compared to 57% of inmates who did not complete education courses. Twenty-seven percent of inmates who completed education courses while incarcerated were reconvicted within three years of release, compared to 35% of inmates who did not take education courses. Finally, 21% of inmates who completed education courses while incarcerated were re-incarcerated after three years of release compared to 31% of inmates who did not take education courses.



Barriers to Correctional Education


Even though reduction in recidivism is evident, there has been an overall decrease in college equivalent courses offered in prisons due to budget cuts influenced by “Get Tough on Crime” initiatives. The Higher Education Act of 1988 restricts eligibility for federal funding for education from individuals with prior convictions for possession or sale of controlled substances. In 1994 the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act was passed which among other things, prohibited inmates from receiving funding through the Federal Pell Grant Program. This ban included both inmates while incarcerated and after release. This ban was surprising due to the fact that only 1% of the total Pell Grant funds were reserved for inmate funding. In addition, no student from the general population was ever denied funding because an incarcerated individual received money instead.