Bill Text: DE HB21 | 2019-2020 | 150th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Classification And Employment.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-06 - Reported Out of Committee (Education) in House with 1 Favorable, 13 On Its Merits [HB21 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2019-HB21-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Briggs King & Rep. Osienski & Sen. Cloutier |
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Reps. Collins, Dorsey Walker, Kowalko; Sen. Sokola |
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 21
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CLASSIFICATION AND EMPLOYMENT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 6531, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strikethrough and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 6531. Treatment and rehabilitation programs.
(e) Inmates required to participate in compulsory programs of drug or alcohol counseling or treatment established by the Department pursuant to this section shall not be eligible for parole nor shall the Department apply for modification of sentence until successfully completing such programs. Inmates refusing to participate in such programs shall further be subject to such other disciplinary measures as the Commissioner shall establish by regulation.
Section 2. Amend § 6531A, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strikethrough and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 6531A. Education programs.
(a) The Department of Education and the Department of Correction shall be jointly responsible for the administration of a prison education program. The Department of Correction and the Department of Education shall work collaboratively through designated agency contracts to accomplish this task.
(b) The Department of Education and the Department of Correction shall be responsible for the oversight and management of the prison education program, including academic courses leading towards a high school diploma, life skills, special education, media resource services and vocational technical courses. The Department of Education shall be responsible for the establishment of rules and regulations regarding the administration of academic and vocational programs within the prison education program governing the maintenance of the prison education program to provide educational services for the Department of Correction . The Department of Education shall be responsible for hiring teachers to provide instruction in these programs. The Department of Education shall further supervise these employees, who shall be considered employees of the Department of Education and are subject to all applicable rules and regulations of the Department s of Education and Correction . Employees who are assigned to the prison education program as teachers that have remained Department of Correction employees shall be supervised by the Department of Education. Teachers who were employees at the time this legislation is enacted, that work for the Department of Correction, shall have the right to transfer to the Department of Education each year upon notification to the Department of Education by April 15 and such transfer shall become effective July 1 of that year. Any position transfer made pursuant to this section shall become permanent. If a remaining Department of Correction teacher position becomes vacant, the position and the associated funding shall be transferred to the Department of Education. Any Department of Education employee working in the prison education program and whose permanent work assignment location resides within or on the campus of a Department of Correction Level 5 or Level 4 facility must submit to the same random drug testing procedure required of Department of Correction employees.
(c) The Department of Correction through the wardens of each facility shall be responsible for classifying offenders in and out of the prison education program, providing dedicated facilities that accommodate the educational needs, and disciplining inmates who have displayed inappropriate behavior in the prison education program. The Department of Correction shall conduct security and background checks on all potential prison education personnel and notify the Department of Education as to the results of that security check.
(d) When the Department of Education shall make prison education programs available to inmates at a correctional facility, inmates at such facility who are eligible, in accordance with rules and regulations established under subsections (b) and (c) of this section, shall be required to enroll in and attend such courses.
(e) Inmates required to participate in compulsory programs of education as established under this section shall not be eligible for parole nor shall the Department of Correction apply for a modification of sentence until the inmate has successfully obtaining obtained a high school diploma or G.E.D , or has been awarded a State of Delaware Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards . Inmates refusing to participate in such programs shall be subject to such disciplinary measures as the Commissioner of Correction shall establish by regulation.
(f) As used in this subsection, a State of Delaware Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards shall be awarded to an inmate who has met the requirements of the inmate’s Individualized Education Program but the inmate will not complete the high school graduation course credit requirements established by the State, district, or charter school for a regular State of Delaware High School Diploma.
(f) (g) The Department of Education shall continue to provide funding through its discretionary federal special education funds for a portion of the education costs associated with prison inmates aged 18 to 21 years who qualify for special education.
SYNOPSIS
The language set forth in this statute would remove barriers for inmates who are students with disabilities and who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) under state and federal law, when being considered for parole or a sentence modification. Requiring an inmate with an IEP to complete a GED or State of Delaware High School Diploma is counter-productive to the treatment and programming of this segment of the prison population and prohibits them from seeking the same benefits of parole or sentence modification afforded to those inmates who do not have an IEP. This amendment to the law allows an inmate the opportunity to earn a State of Delaware Diploma of Alternate Achievement Standards upon successful completion of the inmate's IEP.
