Nearly all states offer
sentencing credit to prison inmates who complete educational,
vocational or treatment training.
In Michigan, the law requires prisoners to
obtain a GED (General Equivalency Diploma) before they become
eligible for parole (there are some exceptions to the law).
Kansas inmates may receive up to 60 days off their sentences by
completing educational training.
Illinois recently revised its criminal code to
allow for parolees to reduce their time on parole by up to 90 days
if they pass the high school equivalency test. That state also
offers sentencing credits for inmates passing the GED.
In Iowa, parole may be delayed for refusal to
participate in educational programs offered.
Missouri’s probation board will not issue parole to
an inmate who hasn’t received a GED. The state will allow exemptions
if a prisoner has made a good-faith effort to obtain the
certification or if he or she is deemed academically unable to get
an equivalency diploma.
Nationally, educational training incentives and
requirements vary widely.
For example, in Vermont and West Virginia, inmates
under 22 years old are required to attend school. In Arizona, an
eighth-grade literacy requirement is tied to credits earned for
early release. In Pennsylvania, a cash incentive is offered to those
attaining a GED, and job assignments may be refused to inmates who
decline to participate in educational programming.
All of these incentive programs are aimed at
reducing prison costs as well as recidivism rates. Criminal justice
experts have long advocated educational and treatment programs for
inmates as part of their transition to "life on the outside." And
recent studies have backed their claims that such programs have
value.
The Three State Recidivism Study conducted by the Correctional
Educational Association followed released inmates from Maryland,
Minnesota and Ohio. The study showed a clear drop in
recidivism rates among inmates participating in educational
programs. For a copy of the report, visit
www.ceanational.org/PDFs/EdReducesCrime.pdf
