High School Education in Correctional Facilities. Research Brief

With the advent of "Get tough on crime" and "Three strikes" in the 1980s and 1990s, correctional facilities have become overloaded with prisoners who are often repeat offenders. 51% of those imprisoned have a GED or high school diploma. Out of the remaining 49%, 36% of inmates had not completed the ninth grade and approximately a quarter of them read at or below the fourth grade level. Prior to 1998, the federal government required that states spend no less than 10% of their Adult Education budgets in correctional institutions. As a backlash to the perception that jail had become too much like a recreational facility, the law was changed so that states could not spend more than 10% in this area. To continue this trend, access to Pell Grants that had been available to prisoners, are now denied to anyone who is incarcerated. However, each state determines if a general education program in their prisons will be mandatory and how much funding will be allotted to the educational programs. The research has continuously found that the more education an inmate has, the lower the recidivism rate. With all of the cuts in the prison educational programs, the most common ones tend to be for inmates to: (1) earn a GED, where they must read at least at the eighth grade level in order to pass; (2) earn an AA, through a community college program; and (3) develop basic literacy skills. High schools and community colleges often work with representatives from correctional facilities to help provide suitable programs. (Contains 19 online resources.)