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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2468 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2706 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Priscila S. Sousa |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act relative to postsecondary education in correctional facilities. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Priscila S. Sousa6th Middlesex1/16/2025 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2468 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2706 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Sousa of Framingham, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2706) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Priscila S. Sousa relative to postsecondary education in correctional facilities. Public Safety and |
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| 20 | 20 | | Homeland Security. |
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| 21 | 21 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 22 | 22 | | _______________ |
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| 23 | 23 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 25 | 25 | | _______________ |
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| 26 | 26 | | An Act relative to postsecondary education in correctional facilities. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 28 | 28 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 29 | 29 | | 1 The executive office of education and the executive office of administration and finance, |
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| 30 | 30 | | 2in consultation with the department of correction, shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of |
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| 31 | 31 | | 3the status of the delivery of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities for the |
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| 32 | 32 | | 4purpose of expanding the high-quality provision of such. This assessment shall include, but need |
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| 33 | 33 | | 5not be limited to: |
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| 34 | 34 | | 6 (a) the current provision of postsecondary education programs (degree and non-degree, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 7for- and non-credit), enrollments, Pell Grant utilization, completions, and equity measures |
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| 36 | 36 | | 8related thereto, (b) a determination of the level of unmet demand for postsecondary education |
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| 37 | 37 | | 9among incarcerated persons, informed by facility populations, educational assessment data, and |
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| 38 | 38 | | 10other indicators of current and potential readiness for program participation, (c) a needs |
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| 39 | 39 | | 11assessment of the facilities, materials and staffing required for expanding the delivery of high- |
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| 40 | 40 | | 12quality, workforce-aligned postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities in line 2 of 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 13with potential demand, including an inventory of the correctional facilities, including, but not |
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| 42 | 42 | | 14limited to, classrooms, multipurpose rooms, libraries and study rooms, staffing, and materials |
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| 43 | 43 | | 15and learning infrastructure, including, but not limited to, education technology and internet |
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| 44 | 44 | | 16access that is currently available for the delivery of postsecondary education, (d) |
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| 45 | 45 | | 17recommendations for and a cost analysis of the improvement of such programs, facilities, |
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| 46 | 46 | | 18staffing, materials, and infrastructure to meet the unmet demand for postsecondary education and |
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| 47 | 47 | | 19support program innovation and expansion, (e) an analysis of the policies of the department of |
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| 48 | 48 | | 20correction impacting the postsecondary education of incarcerated persons, including, but not |
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| 49 | 49 | | 21limited to: (i) classification regulations and processes, (ii) facility transfer policies and practices, |
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| 50 | 50 | | 22(iii) data systems and reporting, (iv) a listing of any other specific barriers to the effective |
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| 51 | 51 | | 23delivery of postsecondary education programs to incarcerated persons, and (v) a survey of (1) |
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| 52 | 52 | | 24students of postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities, (2) former students of |
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| 53 | 53 | | 25such programs, conducted in consultation with regional reentry programs, and (3) any group or |
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| 54 | 54 | | 26person the division deems necessary, and (f) a solicitation of feedback from institutions of higher |
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| 55 | 55 | | 27education that provide postsecondary education programs in correctional facilities to understand |
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| 56 | 56 | | 28current needs, program delivery costs, credit transferability, and other issues impacting program |
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| 57 | 57 | | 29access and completion, (g) a survey of other state agencies regarding staff, programs, policies, |
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| 58 | 58 | | 30resources, and funding relevant to expanding delivery of postsecondary education programs in |
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| 59 | 59 | | 31corrections facilities the results of which would serve to generate: (i) recommendations for |
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| 60 | 60 | | 32establishing ongoing inter-agency planning and cooperation to expand and support the delivery |
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| 61 | 61 | | 33and completion of postsecondary education programs during and after incarceration (including |
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| 62 | 62 | | 34efforts related to developing processes for timely access to the transcripts and academic records |
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| 63 | 63 | | 35incarcerated individuals need to enter collegiate coursework), (ii) recommendations for 3 of 3 |
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| 64 | 64 | | 36increasing access for corrections staff to professional development and postsecondary education |
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| 65 | 65 | | 37programs, (iii) recommendations for a process of regular executive and legislative review of |
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| 66 | 66 | | 38progress toward expanding program delivery and completion of postsecondary education. |
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| 67 | 67 | | 39 The survey will target an array of relevant agencies including, but not limited to: the |
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| 68 | 68 | | 40executive office of education, the department of elementary and secondary education, the |
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| 69 | 69 | | 41department of higher education, the office of student financial assistance, the department of labor |
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| 70 | 70 | | 42and workforce development, commonwealth corporation, the executive office of health and |
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| 71 | 71 | | 43human services, the executive office of veterans services, division of capital asset management |
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| 72 | 72 | | 44and maintenance, and the executive office of housing and livable communities. |
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| 73 | 73 | | 45 (b) Not later than January 1, 2026, the secretary of administration and finance shall issue |
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| 74 | 74 | | 46a report regarding the needs assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. The |
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| 75 | 75 | | 47report shall be submitted to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate. |
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