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Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110

§3423a Office of Correctional Education

Title 20 › CHAPTER 48 — DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION › SUBCHAPTER II — ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT › § 3423a

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates an Office of Correctional Education inside the Department of Education to support and run education for people in prison and other places of confinement. The office must coordinate federal correctional education work, give technical help to State and local school systems and to schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, work with other federal agencies, reach out to state correctional education leaders, and send Congress an annual report on progress. It must also collect sample state data on how many people complete vocational training, earn a high school diploma or GED, or finish postsecondary degrees while incarcerated, and how those outcomes relate to job placement, job retention, and reoffending. Criminal offender: anyone charged with or convicted of a crime, including youth. Correctional institution: prisons, jails, reformatories, work farms, detention centers, halfway houses, or similar places for confinement or rehab. State educational agency: the state board or agency that oversees public K–12 schools, or a designated official if none exists.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §3423a

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Findings
The Congress finds and declares that—
(1)education is important to, and makes a significant contribution to, the readjustment of incarcerated individuals to society; and
(2)there is a growing need for immediate action by the Federal Government to assist State and local educational programs for criminal offenders in correctional institutions.
(b)Statement of purpose
It is the purpose of this subchapter to encourage and support educational programs for criminal offenders in correctional institutions.
(c)Establishment of Office
The Secretary of Education shall establish within the Department of Education an Office of Correctional Education.
(d)Functions of Office
The Secretary, through the Office of Correctional Education established under subsection (c) of this section, shall—
(1)coordinate all correctional education programs within the Department of Education;
(2)provide technical support to State and local educational agencies and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on correctional education programs and curricula;
(3)provide an annual report to the Congress on the progress of the Office of Correctional Education and the status of correctional education in the United States;
(4)cooperate with other Federal agencies carrying out correctional education programs to ensure coordination of such programs;
(5)consult with, and provide outreach to, State directors of correctional education and correctional educators; and
(6)collect from States a sample of information on the number of individuals who complete a vocational education sequence, earn a high school degree or general equivalency diploma, or earn a postsecondary degree while incarcerated and the correlation with job placement, job retention, and recidivism.
(e)Definitions
As used in this section
(1)
(2)the term “correctional institution” means any—
(A)prison,
(B)jail,
(C)reformatory,
(D)work farm,
(E)detention center, or
(F)halfway house, community-based rehabilitation center, or any other similar institution designed for the confinement or rehabilitation of criminal offenders; and
(3)the term “State educational agency” means the State board of education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and secondary schools, or, if there is no such officer or agency, an officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 212 of Pub. L. 96–88 was renumbered section 211 and is classified to section 3422 of this title.

Amendments

1994—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted “under subsection (c)” for “under subsection (a)” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Pub. L. 101–392, title VII, § 702, Sept. 25, 1990, 104 Stat. 843, provided that: “(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the

Amendments

made by this Act [enacting subchapter II of chapter 44 of this title, this section, section 2311a, 2327, 2328, 2394 to 2394e, 2395 to 2395e, 2396 to 2396m, 2411 to 2420a, 2424, 2466b to 2466e, 2468, 2468b to 2468e, and 3423a of this title, and subchapter III of chapter 20 of Title 25, Indians, amending section 2301, 2311 to 2313, 2321 to 2324, 2352, 2361 to 2363, 2382, 2391, 2392, 2401 to 2404, 2421 to 2423, 2451, 2463, and 2471 of this title, section 1812 of Title 25, and section 49f, 1533, 1604, and 1661c of Title 29, Labor, repealing section 1131, 2371 to 2373, 2376 to 2378, 2431, 2462, 2464, 2465, and 3423 of this title, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 2301 of this title] shall take effect on July 1, 1991. “(b) Special Rule.—section 3, 115, 116, 504, and 512 and part H of title III of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act [former section 2302, 2325, 2326, 2466a, and 2468a of this title and former part H (§ 2397 et seq.) of subchapter III of chapter 44 of this title] (as amended by this Act) shall take effect upon the enactment of this Act [Sept. 25, 1990].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 3423a

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110