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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5655
By Delegate Rowe
[Introduced February 13, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Jails and Prisons then the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §15A-4-22, relating to the creation of a mandatory education program for all incarcerated individuals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) The division shall adopt regulations for all correctional institutions in the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the implementation of a mandatory education program for all incarcerated individuals who fail to attain a minimum educational standard as set forth in this subsection.
(1) The regulations adopted by the division shall:
(A) Require that the educational standard shall be the attainment of a General Educational Development (GED) diploma or a verified high school diploma;
(B) Apply only to any incarcerated individual who:
(i) Was received by the Division of Correction after July 1, 1987;
(ii) Has 18 months or more remaining to be served before a mandatory supervision release date;
(iii) Is not exempted due to a medical, developmental, or learning disability; and
(iv) Does not possess a General Educational Development (GED) diploma or a verified high school diploma; and
(C) Require any incarcerated individual to participate in:
1. The mandatory education program for at least 240 calendar days; or
2. A workforce skills training program.
(2) The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall report to the Parole Board the academic progress of an incarcerated individual in the mandatory education program.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a mandatory education program for incarcerated individuals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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