BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
738 (Hancock)
Hearing Date: 05/18/2009 Amended: 05/06/2009
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-2,
ED 8-1
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: SB 738 would recast the existing, statutorily
required advisory committee for prison education as the "Robert
E. Burton Correctional Education Committee," with identified
membership, duties and powers. The bill would require certain
duties to be performed by the Deputy Director of Correctional
Education, in consultation with this newly created committee.
The bill would revise the position of Superintendent of
Correctional Education into a Deputy Director position and
require that this deputy director oversee and administer all
prison education programs in conjunction with the newly-created
committee.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Expansion of services Unknown, but potentially in the
General*
tens of millions
Commission reporting $100 General
CDE $50 $100 $100
General
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Under current law, prison education programs are overseen and
administered by the Superintendent of Correctional Education,
who is appointed by the Secretary of the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Current law also
authorizes the Director of Corrections, the Chancellors of the
CSU and CCC, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI),
with the advice of the California Postsecondary Education
Commission, to enter into interagency agreements to encourage
greater involvement of educational institutions in planning and
developing prison-based educational programs. The interagency
agreements detail the roles of these entities in developing
policy for prison-based educational programs and planning.
This bill would require the Deputy Director to adopt and enforce
all rules and regulations for management and operation of
education programs within CDCR; approve education programs
within correctional institutions; enter into agreements with
public or private school districts, community colleges,
colleges, or universities, and other appropriate entities to
carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Deputy
Director; and visit and inspect correctional schools, develop
and implement a plan for providing transitional
Page 2
SB 738 (Hancock)
educational services for inmates, conduct annual reviews of
program cost-effectiveness and provide specified educational
opportunities to inmates.
The Robert E. Burton Correctional Education Committee would
total 15 members including the Superintendent of public
Instruction and representatives from the state's public
postsecondary institutions, and other representatives, as
specified. The committee would be required to advise the
Deputy Director regarding specified goals and objectives, such
as ensuring that correctional education programs meet minimum
performance standards and provide 9th grade literacy skills
and marketable vocational skills; develop a procedure to
evaluate the effectiveness of correctional education programs;
develop a mechanism to test all CDCR inmates, with limited
exceptions, for academic achievement and provide that
standards shall align with the Department of Education's
testing standards; conduct a survey of all correctional
institutions to identify inmates with special education needs
and develop a plan for addressing those special needs; and
develop a five-year comprehensive plan for a unified
correctional school system by June 1, 2012, as specified.
This bill would further require the committee to submit a report
to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2012, with
recommendations for further restructuring of correctional
education in this state.
This bill would likely result in cost pressure to expand
educational services within correctional facilities by an unknown
but likely significant amount. CDCR indicates that costs for
increased special education costs made have been estimated at
approximately $20 million. Additionally, there would be costs
for reporting and for support of the guidance provided to the
Commission and the Deputy Director by the Department of
Education.
This bill is similar to AB 1914 (Montanez, 2004), which was
vetoed by the Governor.