| 1 | 1 | | 1 of 1 |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 821 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1241 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | Pavel M. Payano |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | An Act related to educational programming for incarcerated emerging adults. |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Pavel M. PayanoFirst Essex 1 of 2 |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | SENATE DOCKET, NO. 821 FILED ON: 1/14/2025 |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1241 |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | By Mr. Payano, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1241) of Pavel M. Payano relative |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | to educational programming for incarcerated emerging adults. The Judiciary. |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 1687 OF 2023-2024.] |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | (2025-2026) |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | _______________ |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | An Act related to educational programming for incarcerated emerging adults. |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | of the same, as follows: |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | 1 Section 48 of Chapter 127, as appearing in section 80 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018, is |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | 2hereby amended by striking the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following:- |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | 3 The commissioner and administrators of state prisons and county facilities shall |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | 4maximize a diverse range of educational programming for all emerging adults, ages 18-25. The |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | 5commissioner shall ensure that at least one educational program leading to the award of a high |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | 6school equivalency certificate including high school equivalency testing opportunities, and credit |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | 7that can be applied to high school graduation, is available to persons who are committed to the |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | 8custody of the department or to a county correctional facility and who have not obtained a high |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | 9school degree or equivalency. In addition to each such facility providing at least one general high |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | 10school equivalency (HiSet) class and high school equivalency testing opportunities and classes 2 of 2 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | 11that can earn credit toward high school graduation, each facility shall also include specialized, |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | 12age-appropriate educational classes for emerging adults, including all individuals ages 18 thru |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | 1325, for both individuals who have and have not obtained a high school degree or equivalency, |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | 14including but not limited to college readiness and college credit classes, and/or workforce |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | 15readiness and vocational classes. Access to workforce development, vocational and employment |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | 16training opportunities in the community shall be maximized as available. All emerging adults |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | 17shall have the opportunity to access at least four hours of programming daily at least five days a |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | 18week; at least four hours daily shall be for programming that will be out of cell and congregate, |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | 19meaning more than one person together without barriers between them to ensure the most |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | 20conducive educational learning environment. Time allowed for in-cell learning through tablets |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | 21shall be maximized and considered as additional time toward the already required daily four |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | 22hours of out of cell learning. Preference for all educational programming will be provided for |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | 23innovations in the delivery of such programming that include, but not limited to, partnerships |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | 24with nonprofits and educational institutions that specialize in serving emerging adults and draw |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | 25upon the talents of staff with lived experiences similar to those incarcerated. |
|---|