language/page in NegReg

amendatory language

document

Questions to consider Notes, feedback,

Comments, questions from THEI

(page 4) A- How should this indicator be A -Restrictions on enrollment growth

determination that a prison defined? How does THEI track makes sense when schools have yet to

education program is alumni who continue education establish how support services are

operating in the best post-release? Are there data operating and how students are being

interest of students must

be based on all of the

limitations from a HEP providers

standpoint?

USED seeks feedback on

supported in their transfer and career

opportunities, compared to their peers on

the traditional campus. following— whether programs without

(A) rates of confined or relevant data in the first two Another important measure of Quality

incarcerated individuals years and receiving this could be staff to student ratio in terms of

continuing their education preliminary approval should face support services staff that interface

post-release;

(B) job placement rates for

such individuals;

other restrictions, such as

enrollment growth or expansion

to additional locations.

B- does THEI track this? If so,

directly with incarcerated students.

Additionally, measures of direct (either in

person or by zoom) contact with support

services staff, compared to average

(C) earnings for such how? We track who is currently engagement for a traditional student. In

individuals; employed from our current other words, if the average student has 5

(D) rates of recidivism for caseload. “touches” with support staff such as

such individuals; B & C - how are these data advisors, librarians, and counselors in a

(E) whether the experience,

credentials, and rates of

tracked for free-world students?

Schools typically have access

to employment information (at

given semester, it will be important to

ensure a similar quantity of touches are

happening in the HEP program. If this isn’t

turnover or departure of least in TN) and keep up with something that a campus traditionally

instructors for a prison employment, so I think measures, then some other way of

education program is the expecting schools to do the evaluating average amount of

same or substantially same for HEP is appropriate. engagement with support staff could be

similar to the experience, What impact does this data have appropriate. This measure is important for

credentials, and rates of

turnover or departure of

on an institutions accreditation?

If none, is it equitable to include

these for incarcerated students?

protecting against programs where

students do not have direct access to any

school support outside of their classroom

instructors for non-prison how/why is data tracked for engagement, which may only take place

education eligible incarcerated that is not tracked virtually.

programs offered by the for free world?

institution; D- how do we D. In order for recidivism to be an

(F) the transferability of

credits for courses available

to confined or incarcerated

define/operationalize recidivism?

What have we learned about this

indicator as a data point for

HEP/higher education? When

equitable measure in these instances,

schools would have to also track their

traditional students’ likelihood of being

incarcerated after enrollment. In other

individuals and the should recidivism begin being words, if the measure is “what impact does

applicability of such credits tracked? Should it include any education have on decreasing chances of

toward related degree or re-incarceration or only new incarceration?”, that information should be

certificate programs for a crime/new conviction collected regardless of if the student has

prison education program

must be the same or

incarceration? What feedback do

we have based on

barriers/inequities with parole

been previously incarcerated or not. We

know that education is a deterrent of

crime/incarceration, so it could be valuable

substantially similar to the experience? to measure the extent to which education

transferability of credits for F - THEI experience with deterred crime for all students. But to only
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

non-prison education

eligible programs offered

by the institution

(G) whether the institution

offers relevant academic

and career advising

services to participating

confined or incarcerated

individuals while they are

confined or incarcerated, in

advance of reentry, and

upon release, that is the

same or substantially

similar to the services

provided to students

enrolled in non-prison

education eligible

programs offered by the

institution;

(H) the rates at which

students complete their

programs; and

(I) if applicable, . other

indicators pertinent to

program success as

determined by the Bureau

of Prison, State

Departments of corrections

or other entity that is

responsible for overseeing

correctional facilities.

transferability of credits.

G- What is relevant? What is the

time frame for “in advance of

reentry”?

H - USED is considering barring

programs with less than a 50%

completion rate. What is THEIs?

What is the state/national

average? What bars do

free-world campuses have if they

don't have a 50% completion

rate? Should data be

disaggregated for race &

ethnicity?

I - ideas/suggestions for other

indicators.

capture incarceration data for people who

participate in HEP programs is inequitable.

This is a measure of the effectiveness of

the criminal justice system, and people

who return home after participating in

HEP programs experience many collateral

consequences of incarceration which are

not alleviated through education and

should not be used to measure the

effectiveness of education.

G.The use of the word “relevant” in this

guideline exposes students to great risk of

being discriminated against in their

advising and career counseling by schools

who may use bias, rather than accurate

licensure and department of labor

information about what careers are and

are not off limits to formerly incarcerated

students. Quality programs will offer

students the same academic and career

advising services to participating confined

or incarcerated individuals that is the

same or substantially similar to the

services provided to students enrolled in

non-prison education eligible programs

offered by the institution, and these

offerings should not be subjectively

clouded by assumptions about what

careers are relevant to people in prison.

This language needs to be more

intentional to protect students from this

undue bias.

H. Completion rate is a complicated

evaluation metric that can have adverse

effects on admissions decisions if these

evaluations aren’t applied thoughtfully. For

THEI, the largest factors leading to attrition

(in no order) are students being released,

students receiving writeups or being

locked down, and students experiencing

significant personal stressors that lead

them to voluntarily drop. While schools

can and should offer support services to

alleviate the impact of voluntary drops,

schools can’t be responsible for

prison-related drops like releases and

disciplinary writeups or lockdowns. It

would be important for programs to track

the causes of their incompletes and for the

data to be evaluated with those different

reasons in mind, rather than incentivising
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

programs to cherry-pick in their admission

process. For example, a program that is

concerned about protecting their

completion rate might only admit

students that won’t be released, students

that only have perfect disciplinary history,

or students that only live in honor

dormitories.

(pages 5-6) Who tracks licensure bans in the Through partnering with the Tennessee

(9) does not offer education state? Federally? Board of Regents and the legal firm Bass,

that is designed to lead to Current approach in TN for Berry and Sims, THEI has learned a lot

licensure or employment career options/licensure about how nuanced and misunderstood

for a specific job or

occupation in the State if

requirements?

Should ED prohibit these

programs being offered? WHat

licensure laws can be when it comes to

their impact on people with prior

conviction history. The overwhelming such job or occupation about the freedom of students majority of licensing laws do not have

typically involves to choose and advocate for outright bans for formerly incarcerated

prohibitions on the change in licensure policies? people--rather, policies are to be

licensure or employment of subjectively evaluated on a case by case

formerly incarcerated

individuals in the State in

which the correctional

basis, or they are based on specific

charges, timeframes, or classification of

convictions. Often, formerly incarcerated

students report that the biggest career

facility is located, or, in the barriers result from schools refusing

case of a Federal admission to certain programs for fear of

correctional facility, in the an applicant's hypothetical

State in which most of the unemployability, rather than with the

individuals confined or

incarcerated in such facility

licensure boards or employers themselves.

With this in mind, it is potentially very

damaging for USED to ban schools from

will reside upon release. offering certain programs through using

(i) In the case of state and language as vague as “typically involves

local correctional facilities, prohibitions”. This could be applied to

the postsecondary almost any profession in the country if

institution does not enroll interpreted liberally. Rather, schools should

any student in a prison be required to provide students with clear

education program that licensure information in advance of

any Federal law or State law admissions procedures, so that students

in which the correctional can make informed choices about their

facility is located, bans, bars, degree and career pathways. While it is

or prohibits licensure or inappropriate to provide education

employment based on any programs for careers that would

criminal conviction or automatically prohibit these students, it is

specific types of criminal also inappropriate to ban programs that

convictions, for that specific could benefit many individuals simply

prison education program; because their conviction history may be

or (ii) In the case of a one factor in their ability to be licensed

Federal correctional facility, and employed. It’s important not to create

the postsecondary additional artificial education barriers that

institution does not enroll don’t need to exist by law.

any student in a prison
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

education program that

any Federal law or State law

in which more than half of

the individuals confined or

incarcerated in such facility

will reside upon release

bans, bars, or prohibits

licensure or employment

based on any criminal

conviction or specific types

of criminal convictions, for

that specific program.

(page 7)

(E) Information about the

types of services offered to

admitted students

including: orientation,

tutoring and academic and

reentry counseling;

None of the application items

ask about admissions practices -

goes directly to admitted

students. What feedback can we

offer on our experience asking

questions about/ensuring

equitable admissions practices?

Consider DOC control,

gatekeeping. How to reduce

bias/barriers and increase access

to equitable admissions.

Equitable admission policies are a critical

component of evaluating quality HEP

programs.

Distinguishing between participation

requirements and admissions decisions

removes some likelihood of discrimination

during admissions decisions. While

prisons are able to set requirements for a

person’s program participation (like

students must not

have received a writeup within 6 months),

and have the authority to grant approval of

HEP program participants, it is important

that colleges offer an admissions process

that mirrors what happens on the

traditional campus as much as possible.

Prison officials that are not affiliated with a

college or university should not be making

primary admissions decisions.