II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1337 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an Office of Correctional 

Education, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, and Mr. 

BENNET) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an 

Office of Correctional Education, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Reentry 

5 through Education in Prisons Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘PREP 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Over the course of an 8-year-period fol2 lowing the release of individuals from Federal pris3 ons, the United States Sentencing Commission 

4 found that 49.3 percent of such individuals were re5 arrested, 31.7 percent were reconvicted, and 24.6 

6 percent were reincarcerated. 

7 (2) The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 

8 over a similar time period as described in paragraph 

9 (1), 83 percent of people released from State prisons 

10 were rearrested. 

11 (3) A broad spectrum of correctional education 

12 programming can prepare individuals for the con13 temporary workforce pre-release, ensuring that upon 

14 release the individuals are best situated to be pro15 ductive members of their communities. 

16 (4) Education for people in prisons has a clear 

17 public safety benefit, reducing recidivism rates by 

18 over 43 percent. 

19 (5) Employment is 13 percent higher for indi20 viduals who participated in either academic or voca21 tional programs in prison, and 28 percent higher for 

22 individuals who participated in vocational programs 

23 alone. 

24 (6) During the first 3 years after an individual 

25 is released, each dollar spent on funding prison eduVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1337.IS S1337

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1 cation programs reduces incarceration costs by 4 to 

2 5 dollars. 

3 (7) Correctional education helps to improve the 

4 safety of the prison environment, not only for incar5 cerated individuals, but also for correctional officers 

6 and prison staff. 

7 (8) A 2016 analysis of the Bureau of Prisons 

8 education programs found that the Bureau of Pris9 ons spends 20 percent as much on inmate education 

10 as the nearest sized State prison systems and experi11 ences a proportionally low return. 

12 (9) The 2016 analysis described in paragraph 

13 (8) also found that the Bureau of Prisons lacked the 

14 staff, programmatic strategy and alignment, budget, 

15 assessment, and educational support to effectively 

16 administer educational programs. 

17 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 

18 a dedicated office within the Bureau of Prisons to— 

19 (1) improve the correctional educational pro20 gramming provided by the Bureau of Prisons; 

21 (2) ensure access to quality programs across all 

22 Federal penal and correctional institutions; 

23 (3) create partnerships with education providers 

24 to offer quality programs; and 


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1 (4) create a repository of research and best 

2 practices to State and local correctional institutions. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Assist6 ant Director’’ means the Assistant Director for Cor7 rectional Education appointed under section 4142(b) 

8 of title 18, United States Code, as added by this 

9 Act. 

10 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

11 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 

12 SEC. 4. OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of title 18, United States 

14 Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 307 the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘CHAPTER 308—EDUCATION 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘4141. Definitions. 

‘‘4142. Office of Correctional Education. 

‘‘4143. Federal Correctional Education Program. 

17 ‘‘§ 4141. Definitions 

18 ‘‘In this chapter: 

19 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Assist20 ant Director’ means the Assistant Director for Cor21 rectional Education appointed under section 

22 4142(b). 


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1 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

2 the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 

4 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri5 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

6 12102). 

7 ‘‘(4) HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA.—The term ‘high 

8 school diploma’ has the meaning given the term in 

9 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu10 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

11 ‘‘§ 4142. Office of Correctional Education 

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this chapter are 

13 to— 

14 ‘‘(1) ensure that all Federal penal and correc15 tional institutions provide quality educational pro16 grams for incarcerated individuals; 

17 ‘‘(2) be a nationwide repository for research, 

18 policies, and best practices in correctional education; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) offer training and technical assistance for 

21 State prison systems. 

22 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF CORREC23 TIONAL EDUCATION.—The Director shall establish within 

24 the Bureau of Prisons an Office of Correctional EduVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1337.IS S1337

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1 cation, which shall be headed by an Assistant Director for 

2 Correctional Education appointed by the Director. 

3 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL

4 EDUCATION.—The Office of Correctional Education re5 quired to be established under this section shall ensure 

6 the provision of educational services for incarcerated indi7 viduals in all Federal penal and correctional institutions, 

8 including programs such as adult literacy, basic skills de9 velopment, education toward a regular high school diploma 

10 or its recognized equivalent, postsecondary education, 

11 workforce development, that leads to an industry-recog12 nized credential, a certificate, or an associate degree, pre13 apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships, career and 

14 technical education, and expanded opportunities for indi15 viduals with a disability, including by— 

16 ‘‘(1) implementing the Federal Correctional 

17 Education Program under section 4143; 

18 ‘‘(2) coordinating and standardizing quality, 

19 evidence-based, and effective education programs 

20 and services across all Federal penal and correc21 tional institutions; 

22 ‘‘(3) coordinating relevant Federal agencies in 

23 providing quality educational services, including by 

24 consulting with the Office of Career, Technical, and 

25 Adult Education of the Department of Education; 


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1 ‘‘(4) coordinating with the Secretary of Vet2 erans Affairs to identify and provide information to 

3 incarcerated veterans regarding potential eligibility 

4 for educational assistance under laws administered 

5 by the Secretary, including educational assistance 

6 under chapters 30 and 33 of title 38, United States 

7 Code; 

8 ‘‘(5) conducting research and issuing reports on 

9 correctional education best practices, particularly as 

10 it relates to pedagogy and instruction of incarcerated 

11 people; 

12 ‘‘(6) providing training and technical assistance 

13 for State prison systems to improve correctional edu14 cation; and 

15 ‘‘(7) coordinating with the Bureau of Justice 

16 Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, National 

17 Center for Education Statistics, the National Insti18 tute of Corrections, and other relevant agencies as 

19 designated by the Assistant Director in collecting 

20 and reporting Federal and State data on— 

21 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals who enroll 

22 in and complete a correctional education pro23 gram, including a career and technical edu24 cation sequence, earn a regular high school di25 ploma or its recognized equivalent, or enroll in 


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1 and earn a postsecondary degree or certificate, 

2 while incarcerated; 

3 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals who do not 

4 complete an education program described in 

5 subparagraph (A) and the reasons for non-com6 pletion; 

7 ‘‘(C) any State or Federal prohibitions or 

8 limitations on employment for individuals with 

9 felony convictions; 

10 ‘‘(D) the correlation between participating 

11 in or completing a program described in sub12 paragraph (A) and continued educational en13 rollment, both in-custody and post-release; 

14 ‘‘(E) the correlation between participating 

15 in and completing a program described in sub16 paragraph (A) with post-release outcomes, in17 cluding job placement, job retention, and recidi18 vism; 

19 ‘‘(F) the correlation between participating 

20 in and completing a program described in sub21 paragraph (A) with in-custody outcomes, in22 cluding enrollment in other education or train23 ing programs and reduction in citations; 

24 ‘‘(G) the impact of the correlation de25 scribed in subparagraphs (C) and (D) on overVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1337.IS S1337

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1 all corrections spending through factors such 

2 as— 

3 ‘‘(i) impacts on recidivism; 

4 ‘‘(ii) spending on Federal penal and 

5 correctional institutions and State prisons; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iii) other relevant factors; and 

8 ‘‘(H) other relevant data. 

9 ‘‘§ 4143. Federal Correctional Education Program 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATED EFFECTIVENESS.—The 

12 term ‘demonstrated effectiveness’ means the past ef13 fectiveness of an eligible provider demonstrated by 

14 providing— 

15 ‘‘(A) performance data on its record of im16 proving the skills of eligible students, particu17 larly eligible individuals who have low levels of 

18 literacy, in the content domains of reading, 

19 writing, mathematics, English language acquisi20 tion, and other relevant subject areas; and 

21 ‘‘(B) information regarding its outcomes 

22 for participants related to program completion, 

23 employment attainment, pursuit of additional 

24 education, and other relevant factors. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER.—The term ‘eligible 

2 provider’ means an organization that has dem3 onstrated effectiveness in providing programs such 

4 as adult literacy, basic skills development, education 

5 toward a regular high school diploma or its recog6 nized equivalent, postsecondary education, workforce 

7 readiness, apprenticeships, career and technical edu8 cation, and programing individuals with learning dis9 abilities, which may include— 

10 ‘‘(A) an institution of higher education; 

11 ‘‘(B) a local educational agency; 

12 ‘‘(C) a community-based organization or 

13 faith-based organization; 

14 ‘‘(D) a volunteer literacy organization; 

15 ‘‘(E) a public or private nonprofit agency; 

16 ‘‘(F) a nonprofit institution that is not de17 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) and 

18 has the ability to provide adult education and 

19 literacy activities to eligible individuals; 

20 ‘‘(G) a consortium or coalition of the agen21 cies, organizations, and institutions described in 

22 any of subparagraphs (A) through (F); and 

23 ‘‘(H) a partnership between an employer 

24 and an entity described in any of subpara25 graphs (A) through (G). 


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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 

2 student’ means an individual who is incarcerated in 

3 a Federal correctional facility. 

4 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

5 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

8 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

9 the Federal Correctional Education Program re10 quired to be established under subsection (b)(1). 

11 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Director 

13 shall establish a Federal Correctional Education 

14 Program to develop and support partnerships be15 tween eligible providers and Federal correctional fa16 cilities to provide quality educational opportunities 

17 to facilitate successful community reintegration. 

18 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.— 

19 The Assistant Director shall select eligible providers 

20 to partner with Federal correctional facilities to de21 velop quality programs for eligible students, which 

22 shall include correctional education programs, such 

23 as— 

24 ‘‘(A) adult literacy; 

25 ‘‘(B) basic skills development; 


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1 ‘‘(C) education toward a regular high 

2 school diploma or its recognized equivalent; 

3 ‘‘(D) postsecondary education; 

4 ‘‘(E) workforce development that leads to 

5 an industry recognized credential, a certificate, 

6 or an associate degree; 

7 ‘‘(F) apprenticeships; and 

8 ‘‘(G) career and technical education. 

9 ‘‘(3) QUALITY PROGRAMS.—When determining 

10 which eligible providers will be selected for participa11 tion in the Program, the Assistant Director shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) consider the evidence that an eligible 

13 provider demonstrates a strong record on stu14 dent outcomes and successful community re15 integration that shall include— 

16 ‘‘(i) high rates of program completion; 

17 ‘‘(ii) a demonstrated record of a re18 duction in recidivism rates, if available; 

19 ‘‘(iii) success in securing employment, 

20 if available; 

21 ‘‘(iv) employment retention, if avail22 able; 

23 ‘‘(v) housing stability, if available; and 

24 ‘‘(vi) other relevant factors; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) give preference to eligible providers 

2 that demonstrate success in the categories de3 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(4) DIPLOMA MILLS.—The Assistant Director 

5 will prevent diploma mills (as defined in section 103 

6 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

7 1003)) from participating in the Program. 

8 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPATION BY ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible provider that 

10 desires to participate in the Program under this sec11 tion shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) develop a quality program, in coordi13 nation with the Federal correctional facility 

14 with which the institution is in partnership, for 

15 eligible students, in which the Federal correc16 tional facility shall administer the logistics of 

17 the program, such as— 

18 ‘‘(i) scheduling; 

19 ‘‘(ii) location and space; 

20 ‘‘(iii) security; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) other logistical factors; 

22 ‘‘(B) ensure that all eligible students with23 out a verifiable high school diploma or its rec24 ognized equivalent receive adult literacy, basic 

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1 cation toward a regular high school diploma or 

2 its recognized equivalent; and 

3 ‘‘(C) prioritize workforce development pro4 grams that prepare eligible students for in-de5 mand sectors or occupations from which they 

6 are not legally barred from entering due to re7 strictions on formerly incarcerated individuals 

8 obtaining any necessary licenses or certifi9 cations for those occupations, and in doing so, 

10 providers shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) consider State licensing require12 ments, administrative barriers, and waiver 

13 provisions that will impact eligible students 

14 in certain occupations when designing their 

15 programs; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) inform eligible students prior to 

17 participation in programs of potential pro18 hibitions or limitations to licensing or em19 ployment upon release depending on the 

20 program offered and the States in which 

21 eligible students settle. 

22 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION TO ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.— 

23 Eligible providers that participate in the Program 

24 under this section shall, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(A) disclose to eligible students and the 

2 Office of Correctional Education information 

3 about any part of the academic program devel4 oped under this section that, by design, cannot 

5 be completed while a student is incarcerated, as 

6 well as the options available for an eligible stu7 dent to complete any remaining program re8 quirements post-release; 

9 ‘‘(B) offer eligible students who are re10 leased while in enrolled in correctional edu11 cation the opportunity to continue the students’ 

12 enrollment in the academic program and trans13 fer credits earned if the student is released 

14 from the Federal correctional facility prior to 

15 completion of the correctional education pro16 gram; 

17 ‘‘(C) inform eligible students of the aca18 demic and financial aid options available if the 

19 students are not able to complete the academic 

20 program while incarcerated, including whether 

21 the eligible students can continue in the pro22 gram after release, transfer credits earned in 

23 the program to another program offered by the 

24 institution, or transfer credits earned in the 


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1 program to another institution of higher edu2 cation; 

3 ‘‘(D) for eligible students who wish to con4 tinue their education upon release— 

5 ‘‘(i) offer academic advising; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) offer appropriate financial aid 

7 counseling, including Federal and State fi8 nancial aid and student loan counseling; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(E) offer eligible students career coun11 seling and job placement assistance upon cor12 rectional education program completion and re13 lease from custody. 

14 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO THE OFFICE OF COR15 RECTIONAL EDUCATION.—An eligible provider that 

16 participates in the Program under this section shall 

17 submit to the Assistant Director— 

18 ‘‘(A) a plan for providing academic and ca19 reer guidance to eligible students, as well as 

20 transition services, to support successful com21 munity reintegration of such students; and 

22 ‘‘(B) relevant information about the eligi23 ble students participating in the Program it re24 lates to subparagraph (A). 


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1 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Assistant Direc2 tor shall work with relevant Federal agencies to provide 

3 technical assistance to eligible providers, and the Federal 

4 correctional facilities with which they are in partnership, 

5 developing new quality academic programs for eligible stu6 dents, or expanding existing programs. 

7 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible provider that 

9 participates in the Program, working with the Fed10 eral correctional facility with which it is in partner11 ship, shall submit to the Assistant Director an an12 nual report on the provider’s academic program for 

13 eligible students, including implementation and re14 sults. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—Each annual re16 port submitted under paragraph (1) shall include in17 formation on— 

18 ‘‘(A) courses and programs offered; 

19 ‘‘(B) numbers, rates, and types of certifi20 cates and degrees awarded; 

21 ‘‘(C) the partnership with the Federal cor22 rectional facility, including information on space 

23 allocation, resources, staffing, and other rel24 evant information on effective collaboration; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the effectiveness of the various cor2 rectional education program’s length, and the 

3 value of credentials or degrees earned with dif4 ferent credit length; 

5 ‘‘(E) the variance of different doses or 

6 credit length by educational program; 

7 ‘‘(F) the models of instruction, curriculum, 

8 and other characteristics of program delivery 

9 that are most effective in a correctional envi10 ronment; 

11 ‘‘(G) challenges in providing programs and 

12 courses in the prison settings; 

13 ‘‘(H) how such challenges were addressed; 

14 ‘‘(I) suggestions for the agency to assist in 

15 addressing challenges; 

16 ‘‘(J) impacts on the environment and safe17 ty of the correctional facility; 

18 ‘‘(K) average and projected costs, overall 

19 and per student, of the program; 

20 ‘‘(L) student demographic data, including 

21 age, gender, race, ethnicity, and security or cus22 tody level; and 

23 ‘‘(M) other relevant data. 

24 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Director, in 

2 coordination with the National Institute of Correc3 tions and the Secretary of Education, shall conduct 

4 an evaluation of the Program that assesses— 

5 ‘‘(A) in-custody outcomes, including im6 pacts on tickets, segregation, program partici7 pation outside of education, and continued en8 rollment in correctional education programs; 

9 ‘‘(B) post-release outcomes, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) postsecondary enrollment in and 

11 continuance of education by eligible stu12 dents after release; 

13 ‘‘(ii) degree attainment from an insti14 tution of higher education; 

15 ‘‘(iii) progress toward a degree in 

16 credits or time; 

17 ‘‘(iv) continued participation in edu18 cational programs after release; 

19 ‘‘(v) factors related to the pursuit of 

20 education, such as housing attainment; and 

21 ‘‘(vi) other relevant factors; 

22 ‘‘(C) safety in correctional facilities; 

23 ‘‘(D) the demand for participation in cor24 rectional education programs, including the size 

25 of waiting lists; 


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1 ‘‘(E) employment outcomes of participants; 

2 ‘‘(F) impacts on recidivism; and 

3 ‘‘(G) other relevant data. 

4 ‘‘(2) DISAGGREGATION.—The data collected 

5 through the evaluation required under paragraph (1) 

6 shall, to the extent practicable, be disaggregated by 

7 program provider to facilitate selection of eligible 

8 providers under subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(3) STUDENT OUTCOMES.—The evaluation de10 scribed in paragraph (1) shall gather data on eligible 

11 students while incarcerated and for the 3- and 5- 

12 year periods post-release from incarceration. 

13 ‘‘(4) PARTNERSHIP.—The evaluation described 

14 in paragraph (1) shall be conducted in partnership 

15 with one or multiple external evaluators. 

16 ‘‘(5) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date on which the evaluations required 

18 under paragraph (1) is completed, the Assistant Di19 rector shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) submit the evaluation, including rec21 ommendations for Program improvements, to 

22 Congress; and 

23 ‘‘(B) publish the evaluation. 

24 ‘‘(g) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of the 

25 cost of an academic program carried out under this section 


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1 may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the aca2 demic program. 

3 ‘‘(h) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—For fiscal years 2020 

4 through 2026, of the amounts appropriated to the Bureau 

5 of Prisons, $170,000,000 shall be used to carry out sub6 section (b).’’. 

7 (b) AMENDMENT TO DUTIES OF THE BUREAU OF

8 PRISONS.—Section 4042(a) of title 18, United States 

9 Code, is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (D)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘(D) establish’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘(6) establish’’; and 

13 (B) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

14 end; 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6), as so re16 designated, the following: 

17 ‘‘(7) establish the Office of Correctional Edu18 cation required under section 4142; and’’; and 

19 (3) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘(E) es20 tablish’’ and inserting ‘‘(8) establish’’. 

21 (c) TABLE OF CHAPTERS AMENDMENT.—The table 

22 of chapters for part III of title 18, United States Code, 

23 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

24 307 the following: 

‘‘308. Education ....................................................................................... 4141’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICES, 

2 AND BEST PRACTICES. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Director, in col4 laboration with relevant Federal agencies, including the 

5 Department of Education, State correctional agencies, 

6 State and local correctional institutions, civil rights orga7 nizations, criminal justice organizations, and research 

8 agencies and organizations, shall establish and maintain 

9 a clearinghouse for research, policies, and best practices 

10 on quality correctional education programs. 

11 (b) INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.—The Assistant 

12 Director shall maintain information and resources on the 

13 public-facing website of the Bureau of Prisons. 

14 SEC. 6. TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Director shall use 

16 funds available to the Bureau of Prisons to provide State 

17 correctional institutions with training and technical assist18 ance on developing and implementing policies and proce19 dures for quality correctional education programs. 

20 (b) PARTNERSHIP.—Federal correctional and penal 

21 institutions with correctional education programs estab22 lished under section 4143 of title 18, United States Code, 

23 as added by this Act, may partner with State and local 

24 correctional institutions and education providers located in 

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1 nical assistance to improve the quality of correctional edu2 cation offered in State prisons. 

3 SEC. 7. CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION FOR INCARCERATED 

4 VETERANS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af6 fairs, in coordination with the Director and State correc7 tional agencies, shall— 

8 (1) carry out a program of outreach to inform 

9 veterans incarcerated in a Federal or State correc10 tional facility about potential eligibility for edu11 cational assistance under laws administered by the 

12 Secretary, including educational assistance under 

13 chapters 30 and 33 of title 38, United States Code; 

14 (2) ensure that educational assistance under 

15 laws administered by the Secretary is available to a 

16 veteran who is incarcerated as described in para17 graph (1) and otherwise eligible for the assistance; 

18 (3) assist each veteran who is incarcerated as 

19 described in paragraph (1) and eligible for edu20 cational assistance under a law administered by the 

21 Secretary by connecting the veteran to one or more 

22 quality correctional education programs, including 

23 the Federal Correctional Education Program estab24 lished under section 4143 of title 18, United States 

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1 carcerated in a Federal or State correctional facility 

2 that provides one or more correctional education 

3 programs that are approved for the use of such as4 sistance; 

5 (4) provide financial aid counseling related to 

6 continued educational enrollment and matriculation 

7 post-release; and 

8 (5) compile and make available to incarcerated 

9 veterans a resource guide for incarcerated veterans 

10 that includes general information about the avail11 ability, post-release, of— 

12 (A) educational assistance available under 

13 laws administered by the Secretary; and 

14 (B) job counseling, training, and place15 ment services available under chapters 41 and 

16 42 of title 38, United States Code. 

17 (b) LIMITATION ON PROVISION OF EDUCATIONAL AS18 SISTANCE.— 

19 (1) MONTHLY HOUSING STIPEND.—A veteran 

20 with a felony conviction who is incarcerated in a 

21 Federal or State correctional facility may not re22 ceive, while so incarcerated— 

23 (A) any monthly housing stipend under 

24 section 3313 of title 38, United States Code; or 


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1 (B) any amount under section 3014 of 

2 such title otherwise payable to help meet the 

3 veteran’s subsistence costs. 

4 (2) COSTS COVERED BY OTHER PROGRAMS.— 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec6 retary shall reduce the amount of educational assist7 ance that the Secretary would otherwise provide to 

8 a veteran described in paragraph (1) under a law 

9 administered by the Secretary for costs of tuition, 

10 fees, supplies, books, equipment, and other edu11 cational costs relating to pursuing a program of edu12 cation while incarcerated by an amount equal to the 

13 amount that such costs are paid by another Federal, 

14 State, or local program. 

Æ 


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