UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

December 8, 2014

Dear Chief State School Officers and State Attorneys General:

On any given day, more than 60,000 young people under age 21 are confined in juvenile justice 

facilities throughout the United States.1 With few exceptions, each one of these young people 

will eventually reenter our communities, and, ideally, our schools and postsecondary institutions. 

High-quality correctional education is one crucial means of supporting their future success and 

thereby strengthening the communities they return to.

There is no doubt that reducing youth contact with the juvenile justice system is the most crucial 

step to promoting positive outcomes for youth2 and avoiding the economic challenges posed by 

high levels of incarceration.3

 Some States and jurisdictions are engaged in exciting reforms that 

emphasize prevention while promoting cost-effective community-based alternatives to 

confinement.

4

 Yet while our country has made significant strides in decreasing the number of 

youth confined in juvenile justice facilities, the rate at which we put children and youth behind 

bars still far exceeds international norms.5

 

We encourage States and jurisdictions to continue to pursue comprehensive prevention efforts

that reach across youth-serving systems. For example, efforts to improve school discipline 

policies and practices, among other reforms, can improve school climate and prevent students’

entry into the justice system from schools.

6

 We must also do more to address the problem of 

disproportionate minority contact with the justice system – the reality is that Black, Latino, and 

Native American youth are more likely to be stopped, arrested, and adjudicated, and thereafter, 

more harshly punished, than their white peers who engage in the very same behaviors.7

For youth who are confined in juvenile justice facilities, providing high-quality correctional 

education that is comparable to offerings in traditional public schools is one of the most powerful 

– and cost-effective – levers we have to ensure that youth are successful once released and are 

able to avoid future contact with the justice system. High-quality correctional education, 

training, and treatment are essential components of meaningful rehabilitation because these equip

youth with the skills needed to successfully reenter their communities and either continue their 

education or join the workforce. We urge leaders throughout the country to be creative in taking 

steps to improve traditional academic offerings and to expand access to career and technical 

education, as well as postsecondary education options for youth confined in juvenile justice 

facilities.

Investing in correctional education is not just the right thing to do to help our young people – it is 

also a wise investment of limited taxpayer resources. Secure confinement is costly and often 

fails to prevent recidivism. The average cost to confine a youth is estimated at up to $88,000 per 

year,

8 and a recent data analysis of selected States found that 55 percent of youth released from 
juvenile justice facilities were rearrested within 12 months.

9 High-quality correctional education 

– including postsecondary correctional education, which can be supported by Federal Pell Grants 

– has been shown to measurably reduce re-incarceration rates.

10 It is also cost effective: recent 

research findings suggest that a $1 correctional education investment can cut re-incarceration 

costs by between $4 and $5 during the first three years post-release.11 Less crime means not 

only lower prison costs – it also means safer communities. High-quality correctional education 

is thus one of the most effective crime-prevention tools we have. 

Improving prevention efforts and strengthening the correctional education for youth who do

enter the system are both recommendations of the Task Force Report to the President for the My 

Brother’s Keeper initiative, which aims to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and 

young men of color and ensure that all young people have the opportunity to reach their full 

potential. In a June 9, 2014 letter, we noted several ongoing Federal initiatives in this area. 

Today, we are pleased to announce the release of new guidance and technical assistance 

materials that will help State and local leaders provide high-quality education to youth in 

juvenile justice facilities: 

• A resource guide, Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile 

Justice Secure Care Settings from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and U.S. 

Department of Justice (DOJ) identifies promising practices for improving education 

programs in juvenile justice facilities, as well as areas in which Federal legal obligations 

apply.

• A Dear Colleague Letter on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for Students 

with Disabilities in Correctional Facilities from ED’s Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services clarifies State and public agency obligations under the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act to ensure the provision of a free and appropriate public 

education to eligible students with disabilities in correctional facilities. 

• A Dear Colleague Letter on the Civil Rights of Students in Juvenile Justice Residential 

Facilities from ED’s Office for Civil Rights and DOJ’s Civil Rights Division clarifies that 

those juvenile justice residential facilities that receive Federal funding, like all other public 

schools, must comply with Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on 

race, color, national origin, sex, religion, and disability.

• A Dear Colleague Letter on Access to Pell Grants for Students in Juvenile Justice 

Facilities for campus financial aid professionals and accompanying factsheets from ED’s

Office of Postsecondary Education clarify that otherwise eligible youth who are confined in

juvenile justice facilities are eligible to receive Federal Pell Grants, subject to the modified

cost of attendance statutory provisions that apply to incarcerated students. 

We hope these resources, which are available at www.ed.gov/correctionaled, help you to provide 

access to high-quality correctional education for all youth committed to your care and enrolled in 

your schools.

 

President Obama has observed that education is ultimately “about giving each and every one of 

us the chance to fulfill our promise, and to be the best version of ourselves we can be.” This 

observation may be particularly apt for high-quality correctional education, which is one 

important way of providing some of our most vulnerable youth with a real chance at a second 
chance – the opportunity to demonstrate growth and maturity and, ultimately, to fulfill their 

potential as human beings.

 

Thank you for your partnership and for your efforts each day to improve access to high-quality 

correctional education.

Sincerely,

 Arne Duncan Eric H. Holder, Jr.

Secretary of Education Attorney General

 of the United States

 1 National Report Series Bulletin (Aug. 2014). Juveniles in Residential Placement, 2011. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of 

Justice Programs, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, at 3. Available at http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/246826.pdf.

2 U.S. Departments of Education and Justice (2014). Guiding Principles for Providing High-Quality Education in Juvenile 

Justice Secure Care Settings, Washington, D.C. Available at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/correctional-education/guidingprinciples.pdf.

3 Mitchell, M. and Leachman, M. (2014). Changing Priorities: State Criminal Justice Reforms and Investments in Education. 

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Available at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4220.

4 Balck, A. (2012). Advances in Juvenile Justice Reform: 2009-2011. The National Juvenile Justice Network, at 5-9. Available 

at http://www.njjn.org/uploads/digital-library/NJJN_adv_fin_press_sept_update.pdf (“NJJN Study”).

5 Sickmund, M., et al. (2014). Easy Access to the Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement: 1997-2011. U.S. Department of 

Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Available at http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezacjrp/; 

Hazel, N. (2008). Cross-National Comparison of Youth Justice. Youth Justice Board for England and Wales. Cited in Davis, L. M., et al.

(2014). How Effective is Correctional Education, and Where Do We Go from Here? RAND Corporation; U.S. Department of Justice, 

Bureau of Justice Assistance, at 21. Available at 

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR500/RR564/RAND_RR564.pdf (“2014 RAND Study”) (“The rate of 

youth incarceration in the United States is therefore more than three times the highest rates in other developed nations.”).

6 In January 2014, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released a school discipline guidance package to assist States, 

districts, and schools in developing practices and strategies to enhance school climate, and ensure that school discipline policies and 

practices comply with Federal law. The guidance package and additional resources are available at http://www.ed.gov/school-discipline/.

7 NJJN Study, at 18.

8 Mendel, R. A. (2011). No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, at 

17. Available at http://www.aecf.org/m/resourcedoc/aecf-NoPlaceForKidsFullReport-2011.pdf.

9 2014 RAND Study at 23.

10 Davis, L. M., et al. (2013). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs that Provide 

Education to Incarcerated Adults. RAND Corporation; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Available at 

http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR200/RR266/RAND_RR266.pdf (“2013 RAND Study”).

11 Press Release, Department of Justice (Aug. 22, 2013). Justice and Education Departments Announce New Research Showing 

Prison Education Reduces Recidivism, Saves Money, Improves Employment. Available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-andeducation-departments-announce-new-research-showing-prison-education-reduces. Citing 2013 RAND Study.