HLS 24RS-727 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 12
BY REPRESENTATIVE FREEMAN
CORRECTIONS: Continues the task force created by House Resolution No. 174 of the
2023 R.S. to study the educational programs in the prisons and jails of this state
1 A RESOLUTION
2To continue the task force created in the 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature of
3 Louisiana pursuant to House Resolution No. 174 to study both the academic and
4 vocational educational programs within prisons and jails in Louisiana.
5 WHEREAS, on June 30, 2022, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections held
6approximately twenty-five thousand six hundred seventy-seven individuals in its custody,
7in addition to one thousand three hundred ninety-five women; and
8 WHEREAS, approximately fourteen thousand one hundred fifty-seven individuals
9are housed in parish jails; and
10 WHEREAS, six percent of incarcerated individuals are in transitional work
11programs; and
12 WHEREAS, in 2021, there were twelve thousand, one hundred ninety-one new
13admissions to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, of which thirteen percent
14were under twenty-five years of age, twelve percent were over fifty years of age, ten percent
15were women, and twenty-one percent were for violent crimes; and
16 WHEREAS, of these new admissions, sixty-five percent were parole eligible and
17ninety-one percent were eligible for good time parole supervision; and
18 WHEREAS, in 2021, fifty-two parishes sentenced at least fifty individuals to prison,
19thirty-three parishes sentenced at least one hundred individuals to prison, and sixteen
20parishes sentenced at least two hundred individuals to prison; and
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HR NO. 12
1 WHEREAS, in 2021, the nine leading parishes relative to sentencing are Caddo
2Parish with one thousand one hundred six, Jefferson Parish with nine hundred thirty-six, St.
3Tammany with six hundred sixty-nine, Calcasieu with sixty hundred twenty, East Baton
4Rouge with five hundred ninety-nine, Bossier and Ouachita with five hundred twelve,
5Livingston with four hundred eighty-six, and Orleans with four hundred sixty-one; and
6 WHEREAS, in 2021, there were twelve thousand five hundred seventy-two
7individuals released from state custody; and
8 WHEREAS, the overwhelming majority of those individuals return to where they
9consider to be home or where they have opportunity and support; and
10 WHEREAS, in 2021, forty-nine parishes received over fifty individuals from
11custody, thirty-three parishes received at least one hundred individuals, sixteen parishes
12received over two hundred individuals; and
13 WHEREAS, of those sixteen parishes, Orleans received nine hundred eighty-three
14individuals, Caddo received nine hundred eighty-one individuals, Jefferson received nine
15hundred forty-seven individuals, East Baton Rouge received seven hundred forty-nine
16individuals, St. Tammany received six hundred sixty-six individuals, and Ouachita received
17five hundred twelve individuals; and
18 WHEREAS, Louisiana recidivism rates, including revocations of supervision, vary
19based on where an individual was released, with the highest rates of return to custody being
20from parish jails at thirty-two percent, transitional work programs at twenty-eight percent,
21and state prisons at twenty-five percent over three years; and
22 WHEREAS, this disparity in recidivism rates has remained consistent across years
23of release, and the reduced rate for those who have obtained an education has reached
24sixteen percent; and
25 WHEREAS, individuals listed under "education" by the department as having
26attained a credential account for less than ten percent of those released between 2007 and
272020; and
28 WHEREAS, the recidivism rate of these individuals has steadily improved over time
29between 2007 and 2012, averaging an eleven percent return to prison in the first year and a
30reduction to five percent between the years of 2019 and 2020; and
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HR NO. 12
1 WHEREAS, the MacKinac Center for Public Policy performed a comprehensive
2analysis of correctional education between the years of 1980 and 2022 and documented the
3impacts of various levels of education, including adult basic education reducing recidivism
4by six point three percent over three years, and increasing employment by one point four
5percent; and
6 WHEREAS, a completed secondary education, including a GED, reduces recidivism
7by seven point one percent and increases employment by one point two percent over three
8years; and
9 WHEREAS, vocational education reduces recidivism by nine point three percent and
10increases employment by five point five percent over three years; and
11 WHEREAS, a college education reduces recidivism by twenty-seven point seven
12percent and increases employment by ten point five percent over three years; and
13 WHEREAS, the RAND Corporation published a study in 2013 that showed every
14one dollar spent on correctional education saved the public four to five dollars in police,
15court, and correctional costs, in addition to saving the hardships inflicted through crime; and
16 WHEREAS, educated individuals in jails and prisons create a ripple effect of role
17models and mentors, which reduces disciplinary infractions and provides a more capable
18incarcerated workforce; and
19 WHEREAS, on average, half of incarcerated individuals have two school-aged
20children, who have a higher risk of incarceration due to poverty, trauma, and family
21disruption; and
22 WHEREAS, parents and children who have studied together, despite physical
23distance, have reported feelings of mutual inspiration from one another; and
24 WHEREAS, the United States Department of Education has reinstated the Pell Grant
25program for incarcerated students, increasing the viability of post-secondary education; and
26 WHEREAS, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections created an advisory
27committee to implement a Pell Grant program; and
28 WHEREAS, incarcerated individuals participate in a wide range of programming that
29varies between institutions, including support from outside volunteers, temporary
30arrangements, and distance learning courses; and
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HR NO. 12
1 WHEREAS, the 2022-2023 budget for the Department of Public Safety and
2Corrections allocates one percent of the budget, five point eighty-six million dollars, for
3rehabilitation, including forty-three staff education positions out of four thousand four
4hundred eighty-seven employees, which is an average of five individuals per institution; and
5 WHEREAS, it is unclear how many educational staff exist across the many local jails
6in Louisiana; and
7 WHEREAS, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative provided a reallocation of funds into
8rehabilitative programming; and
9 WHEREAS, those funds have been reduced and been the subject of dispute; and
10 WHEREAS, five percent of the incarcerated population are women, who are spread
11throughout multiple facilities in much less concentration than men with a different range of
12programming opportunities; and
13 WHEREAS, good time credits are granted upon completion of certain educational
14programming, so that prison time can be converted into parole time; and
15 WHEREAS, the Voice of the Experienced and Daughters Beyond Incarceration are
16two organizations with deep connections with Louisiana's incarcerated individuals that are
17committed to their rehabilitation and restoration of families; and
18 WHEREAS, Tulane University and Loyola University New Orleans both offer
19bachelor degree programs in Louisiana prisons, and Northshore Technical College provides
20associate degree programs in Louisiana prisons.
21 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
22Legislature of Louisiana does hereby continue the task force created in the 2023 Regular
23Session of the Legislature of Louisiana pursuant to House Resolution No. 174 to study both
24the academic and vocational educational programs within prisons and jails in Louisiana.
25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the membership and duties of the task force
26shall continue as provided in House Resolution No. 174 of the 2023 Regular Session of the
27Legislature of Louisiana.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Tulane University shall continue to provide staff
29support to the task force.
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HR NO. 12
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to each
2of the task force members and the appointing entities provided in this Resolution.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that one print copy and one electronic copy of any
4report produced pursuant to this Resolution shall be submitted to the David R. Poynter
Legislative Research Library as required by R.S. 24:772 no later than March 1, 2025.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 12 Original 2024 Regular Session Freeman
Continues the task force created in the 2023 Regular Session of the Legislature of La.
pursuant to HR No. 174 to study both the academic and vocational educational programs
within prisons and jails in La. Requires the task force to report its findings and
recommendations to the legislature on or before March 1, 2025.
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