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Inmate Amendments
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Stephanie Pitcher
House Sponsor:
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LONG TITLE
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General Description:
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This bill requires the Department of Corrections to provide an optional financial literacy
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class for inmates.
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Highlighted Provisions:
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This bill:
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▸ requires the Department of Corrections to provide an optional financial literacy class for
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inmates; and
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▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
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Money Appropriated in this Bill:
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None
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Other Special Clauses:
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None
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Utah Code Sections Affected:
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AMENDS:
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64-13-48, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Chapter 310
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1. Section 64-13-48 is amended to read:
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64-13-48 . Educational and career-readiness programs.
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(1) The department shall, in accordance with Subsection 64-13-6(1)(c), ensure that
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appropriate evidence-based and evidence-informed educational or career-readiness
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programs are made available to an inmate as soon as practicable after the creation of the
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inmate's case action plan.
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(2) The department shall provide incarcerated women with substantially equivalent
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educational and career-readiness opportunities as incarcerated men.
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(3) Before an inmate begins an educational or career-readiness program, the department
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shall provide reasonable access to resources necessary for an inmate to apply for grants
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or other available financial aid that may be available to pay for the inmate's program.
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(4)(a) The department shall consider an inmate's current participation in an educational
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or career-readiness program when the department makes a decision with regard to an
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inmate's:
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(i) transfer to another area or facility; or
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(ii) appropriate disciplinary sanction.
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(b) When possible, the department shall use best efforts to allow an inmate to continue
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the inmate's participation in an educational or career-readiness program while the
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facility is under lockdown, quarantine, or a similar status.
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(5)(a) The department shall maintain records on an inmate's educational progress,
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including completed life skills, certifications, and credit- and non-credit-bearing
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courses, made while the inmate is incarcerated.
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(b) The department shall facilitate the transfer of information related to the inmate's
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educational process upon the inmate's release, including the inmate's post-release
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contact information and the records described in Subsection (5)(a), to:
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(i) the inmate; or
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(ii) an entity that the inmate has authorized to receive the inmate's records or
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post-release contact information, including an institution:
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(A) from which the inmate received educational instruction while the inmate was
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incarcerated; or
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(B) at which the inmate plans to continue the inmate's post-incarceration
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education.
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(6) Beginning May 1, 2023, the department shall provide an annual report to the Higher
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Education Appropriations Subcommittee regarding educational and career-readiness
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programs for inmates, which shall include:
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(a) the number of inmates who are participating in an educational or career-readiness
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program, including an accredited postsecondary education program;
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(b) the percentage of inmates who are participating in an educational or career-readiness
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program as compared to the total inmate population;
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(c) inmate program completion and graduation data, including the number of
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completions and graduations in each educational or career-readiness program;
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(d) the potential effect of educational or career-readiness programs on recidivism, as
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determined by a comparison of:
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(i) the total number of inmates who return to incarceration after a previous
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incarceration; and
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(ii) the number of inmates who return to incarceration after a previous incarceration
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who participated in or completed an educational or career-readiness program;
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(e) the number of inmates who were transferred to a different facility while currently
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participating in an educational or career-readiness program, including the number of
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inmates who were unable to continue a program after a transfer to a different facility;
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and
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(f) the department's:
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(i) recommendation for resources that may increase inmates' access to and
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participation in an educational or career-readiness program; and
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(ii) estimate of how many additional inmates would participate in an educational or
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career-readiness program if the resources were provided.
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(7) The department shall:
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(a) ensure that an inmate enrolled in an educational or career-readiness program has
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access to modern technology determined by the provider of the program as necessary
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for an inmate to participate in the program; and
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(b) assist an inmate in applying for jobs within 30 days before the day on which the
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inmate is released from the department's custody.
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(8) The department may not offer training for an inmate to become a certified nursing
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assistant certified by the Department of Health and Human Services.
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(9)(a) The department shall provide inmates with the opportunity to take a financial
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literacy class.
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(b) The financial literacy class described in Subsection (9)(a) shall include instruction on
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strategies for saving and managing money earned through employment, including
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any employment during incarceration.
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[(9)] (10) The department may make rules in accordance with Section 64-13-10 and Title
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63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to carry out the provisions of this
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section.
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Section 2. Effective date.
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This bill takes effect on May 7, 2025.
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