BILL NUMBER: AB 1239 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 19, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 25, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Solorio
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Bradford and Torlakson )
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Section 2062.5 to the Penal Code, relating to
prisoners.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1239, as amended, Solorio. Prisoners: prison education
programs.
Existing law establishes various prison education programs.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to determine and implement a system of incentives to
increase inmate participation in, and completion of, academic and
vocational education, as specified. Existing law requires the
department to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional
rehabilitation and treatment services for prison inmates and
parolees.
This
The bill would state findings and declarations of the
Legislature pertaining to inmate education. This bill would
require that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
implement any funding adjustments to inmate academic and vocational
education programs consistent with specified requirements, including,
among others, that the department shall prioritize the preservation
of programs that are effective at reducing recidivism and that the
department shall seek to place inmates and parolees into programs for
which they are best suited, as specified. The bill would require the
department to annually report to the Joint Legislative Budget
Committee specified information regarding inmate participation in,
and completion of, academic and vocational education programs.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the
following:
(a) Approximately 95 percent of inmates in the custody of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) will be released
and returned to their original communities. According to the
Legislative Analyst's Office, only 14 percent of those released will
have received any education or vocational training while
incarcerated.
(b) Lack of academic and vocational education programs creates
significant risk and safety issues in the prisons for staff and
inmates. The top five CDCR facilities with the highest percentages of
inmates in academic programs had an average in-prison violence rate
of 4.9 incidents per 100 inmates. The bottom five facilities with the
lowest percentages of inmates in academic programs had an average
in-prison violence rate of 8.2 incidents per 100 inmates, nearly
double the average for facilities with high percentages of inmates in
academic programs. The facilities with the highest rates of academic
programs for inmates exhibited an average violence rate of 3.9
incidents per 100 inmates. The average number of incidents was more
than twice as high, 8.6 incidents per 100 inmates, in CDCR facilities
with the lowest rate of academic programs for inmates.
(c) Attending school behind bars reduces the likelihood of
reincarceration by 29 percent. Translated into savings, every $1
spent on inmate education has a return of more than $2 in reduced
prison costs which can then go back to the General Fund.
(d) California has one of the lowest rates of inmate participation
in academic programs of any state. Nineteen percent of inmates are
completely illiterate and 40 percent of inmates are functionally
illiterate, rates that far exceed the general population. California
has the dubious distinction of having one of the highest rates of
recidivism in the country. According to the Legislative Analyst's
Office, the number of slots for academic programs has actually
decreased from 37,000 in 1998 to 27,000 in 2007.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 2062.5 is
added to the Penal Code, to read:
2062.5. (a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
shall implement any funding adjustments to inmate academic and
vocational education programs consistent with all of the following:
(1) The department shall prioritize the preservation of programs
that are effective at reducing recidivism based on evidence in
studies of the programs operated by the department or in the national
literature.
(2) The department shall seek to achieve savings through more
efficient operations in the delivery of these programs and shall take
into account cost avoidance for the state.
(3) The department shall seek to place inmates and parolees into
programs for which they are best suited by prioritizing the placement
of offenders who are assessed as higher risk to reoffend,
demonstrate a significant need for the services provided by a
particular program, and who have a sufficient amount of time left to
serve in prison to reasonably complete the program or, at a minimum,
make a reasonable amount of progress so that it is possible that the
program will have an impact on their likelihood of recidivating.
(4) The department shall seek to prioritize the elimination of
vacant positions over laying off the laying
off of existing staff.
(5) The department shall seek to use available resources to
maximize the number of inmates and parolees who have access to and
complete programs.
(6) The department shall seek to maximize the use of federal or
other funds to maintain or enhance inmate and parolee programs.
(b) No later than September 1st 1 of
each year, the department shall report to the Joint Legislative
Budget Committee a detailed plan as to how it is meeting the
provisions of requirements imposed on the department
by Sections 2054.2 and 2062 to increase participation and
completion rates for academic and vocational education programs, as
determined by the assessments performed pursuant to Section 3020.
This report shall include, but not be limited to, information on the
success of participants at achieving a literacy level as specified in
Section 2053.1, a high school diploma or equivalent, or a particular
job skill.