I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5676 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an Office of Prison 
Education, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 22, 2021 
Ms. DEAN (for herself, Mr. MFUME, and Mr. JONES) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addi-
tion to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish an 
Office of Prison Education, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Reentry 
through Education in Prisons Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘PREP 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Over the course of an 8-year-period fol-
lowing the release of individuals from Federal pris-
ons, the United States Sentencing Commission 
found that 49.3 percent of such individuals were re-
arrested, 31.7 percent were reconvicted, and 24.6 
percent were reincarcerated. 
(2) The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 
over a similar time period as described in paragraph 
(1), 83 percent of people released from State prisons 
were rearrested. 
(3) A broad spectrum of prison education pro-
gramming can prepare individuals for the contem-
porary workforce pre-release, ensuring that upon re-
lease the individuals are best situated to be produc-
tive members of their communities. 
(4) Education for people in prisons has a clear 
public safety benefit, reducing recidivism rates by 
over 43 percent. 
(5) Employment is 13 percent higher for indi-
viduals who participated in either academic or voca-
tional programs in prison, and 28 percent higher for 
individuals who participated in vocational programs 
alone. 
(6) During the first 3 years after an individual 
is released, each dollar spent on funding prison edu-
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cation programs reduces incarceration costs by 4 to 
5 dollars. 
(7) Prison education helps to improve the safety 
of the prison environment, not only for incarcerated 
individuals, but also for correctional officers and 
prison staff. 
(8) A 2016 analysis of the Bureau of Prisons 
education programs found that the Bureau of Pris-
ons spends 20 percent as much on inmate education 
as the nearest-sized State prison systems and experi-
ences a proportionally low return. 
(9) The 2016 analysis described in paragraph 
(8) also found that the Bureau of Prisons lacked the 
staff, programmatic strategy and alignment, budget, 
assessment, and educational support to effectively 
administer educational programs. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to create 
a dedicated office within the Bureau of Prisons to— 
(1) improve the prison education programs pro-
vided by the Bureau of Prisons; 
(2) ensure access to quality education programs 
across all Federal penal and correctional institu-
tions; 
(3) create partnerships with education providers 
to offer quality programs; and 
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(4) create a repository of research and best 
practices for State and local correctional institutions 
on quality education programs. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Director’’ means the Assistant Director for Pris-
on Education appointed under section 4142(b) of 
title 18, United States Code, as added by this Act. 
(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 
SEC. 4. OFFICE OF PRISON EDUCATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part III of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after chapter 307 the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘CHAPTER 308—EDUCATION 
‘‘Sec. 
‘‘4141. Definitions. 
‘‘4142. Office of Prison Education. 
‘‘4143. Federal Prison Education Program. 
‘‘§ 4141. Definitions 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) ASSISTANT DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Assist-
ant Director’ means the Assistant Director for Pris-
on Education appointed under section 4142(b). 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. 
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‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF PRISON EDU-
CATION.—The Office of Prison Education required to be 
established under this section shall ensure the provision 
of educational services for incarcerated individuals in all 
Federal penal and correctional institutions, including pro-
grams such as adult literacy, basic skills development, 
education toward a regular high school diploma or its rec-
ognized equivalent, postsecondary education, workforce 
development, that leads to an industry-recognized creden-
tial, a certificate, or an associate degree, pre-apprentice-
ships, registered apprenticeships, career and technical 
education, and expanded opportunities for individuals with 
a disability, including by— 
‘‘(1) implementing the Federal Prison Edu-
cation Program under section 4143; 
‘‘(2) coordinating and standardizing quality, 
evidence-based, and effective education programs in 
prison and services across all Federal penal and cor-
rectional institutions; 
‘‘(3) coordinating relevant Federal agencies in 
providing quality educational services, including by 
consulting with the Office of Career, Technical, and 
Adult Education of the Department of Education; 
‘‘(4) coordinating with the Secretary of Vet-
erans Affairs to identify and provide information to 
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incarcerated veterans regarding potential eligibility 
for educational assistance under laws administered 
by the Secretary, including educational assistance 
under chapters 30 and 33 of title 38, United States 
Code; 
‘‘(5) conducting research and issuing reports on 
education programs in prison, including on best 
practices, particularly as it relates to pedagogy and 
instruction of incarcerated people; 
‘‘(6) providing training and technical assistance 
for State prison systems to improve education pro-
grams in prison; and 
‘‘(7) coordinating with the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, National 
Center for Education Statistics, the National Insti-
tute of Corrections, and other relevant agencies as 
designated by the Assistant Director in collecting 
and reporting Federal and State data on— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals who enroll 
in and complete an education program in pris-
on, including a regular high school diploma or 
its recognized equivalent, a career and technical 
education sequence, or a postsecondary degree 
or certificate; 
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‘‘(B) the number of individuals who do not 
complete an education program in prison and 
the reasons for non-completion; 
‘‘(C) any State or Federal prohibitions or 
limitations on employment for individuals with 
felony convictions who complete an education 
program in prison; 
‘‘(D) the correlation between participating 
in or completing an education program in pris-
on and continued educational enrollment, both 
in-custody and post-release; 
‘‘(E) the correlation between participating 
in and completing an education program in 
prison with post-release outcomes, including job 
placement, job retention, and recidivism; 
‘‘(F) the correlation between participating 
in and completing an education program in 
prison with in-custody outcomes, including en-
rollment in other education or training pro-
grams and reduction in citations; 
‘‘(G) the impact of the correlation de-
scribed in subparagraphs (C) through (F) on 
overall corrections spending through factors 
such as— 
‘‘(i) impacts on recidivism; 
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‘‘(ii) spending on Federal penal and 
correctional institutions and State prisons; 
and 
‘‘(iii) other relevant factors; and 
‘‘(H) other relevant data. 
‘‘§ 4143. Federal Prison Education Program 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATED
EFFECTIVENESS.—The 
term ‘demonstrated effectiveness’ means the past ef-
fectiveness of an eligible provider demonstrated by 
providing— 
‘‘(A) performance data on its record of im-
proving the skills of eligible students, particu-
larly eligible individuals who have low levels of 
literacy, in the content domains of reading, 
writing, mathematics, English language acquisi-
tion, and other relevant subject areas; and 
‘‘(B) information regarding its outcomes 
for participants related to program completion, 
employment attainment, pursuit of additional 
education, and other relevant factors. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PROVIDER.—The term ‘eligible 
provider’ means an organization that has dem-
onstrated effectiveness in providing programs such 
as adult literacy, basic skills development, education 
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toward a regular high school diploma or its recog-
nized equivalent, postsecondary education, workforce 
readiness, apprenticeships, career and technical edu-
cation, and programing individuals with learning dis-
abilities, which may include— 
‘‘(A) an institution of higher education; 
‘‘(B) a local educational agency; 
‘‘(C) a community-based organization or 
faith-based organization; 
‘‘(D) a volunteer literacy organization; 
‘‘(E) a public or private nonprofit agency; 
‘‘(F) a nonprofit institution that is not de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) and 
has the ability to provide adult education and 
literacy activities to eligible individuals; 
‘‘(G) a consortium or coalition of the agen-
cies, organizations, and institutions described in 
any of subparagraphs (A) through (F); and 
‘‘(H) a partnership between an employer 
and an entity described in any of subpara-
graphs (A) through (G). 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—The term ‘eligible 
student’ means an individual who is incarcerated in 
a Federal correctional facility. 
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rectional institutions and education providers located in 
the same State or region to facilitate training and tech-
nical assistance to improve the quality of correctional edu-
cation offered in State prisons. 
SEC. 7. PRISON EDUCATION FOR INCARCERATED VET-
ERANS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs, in coordination with the Director and State correc-
tional agencies, shall— 
(1) carry out a program of outreach to inform 
veterans incarcerated in a Federal or State correc-
tional facility about potential eligibility for edu-
cational assistance under laws administered by the 
Secretary, including educational assistance under 
chapters 30 and 33 of title 38, United States Code; 
(2) ensure that educational assistance under 
laws administered by the Secretary is available to a 
veteran who is incarcerated as described in para-
graph (1) and otherwise eligible for the assistance; 
(3) assist each veteran who is incarcerated as 
described in paragraph (1) and eligible for edu-
cational assistance under a law administered by the 
Secretary by connecting the veteran to one or more 
quality education programs in prison, including the 
Federal Prison Education Program established 
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