§3423a Office of Correctional Education

Summary

Creates an Office of Correctional Education inside the Department of Education and says the federal government must help state and local schools run education programs for people in custody. It says education helps people leave prison and return to society. The Office must coordinate correctional education across the Department, give technical help to state and local school agencies and Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, send an annual report to Congress on its work and the state of prison education, work with other federal agencies, reach out to state correctional education leaders, and collect sample data from States on how many people finish vocational programs, earn a high school diploma or GED, or get a college degree in prison and how that relates to finding and keeping jobs and to reoffending. “Criminal offender” means anyone charged with or convicted of a crime, including youth. “Correctional institution” means places like prisons, jails, reformatories, work farms, detention centers, halfway houses, community rehab centers, or similar facilities. “State educational agency” means the state board of education or the agency the state uses to run public K–12 schools.