EDUCATION AND THE INCARCERATED

Education and Recidivism

Inmates who obtain their GED, enroll in college courses and complete vocational programs are less likely to return to prison. In the State of Tennessee, the recidivism rate is 78% for those inmates who neglect opportunities to obtain an education.

Studies done in New York, Texas, Arizona, and Utah support the theory that the more education an inmate receives, it improves his chances for being a productive citizen in the community of his choice.

An Interesting Observation
  • 50% of New York StateÕs inmate cannot read.
  • 67% of the inmates nationwide are high school dropouts.
  • 55% of New York StateÕs inmates worked a full-time job prior to their arrest.
  • Inmates nationwide reported an income of less than $10,000 prior to their arrest.

Education in the Federal Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons introduced in 1991 mandatory literacy programs for all prison inmates who are functionally illiterate but mentally capable. At first this was mandatory for the period sufficient to reach an 8th Grade Level. This was later raised to a 12th Grade Level, evidenced by receiving a GED.

Education in State Correctional Systems

Many of our state prisons are making it mandatory for inmates between the ages of 18 and 35 to receive their GED before they are eligible for parole.

Prison and the Uneducated

  • 46% of the individuals arrested in New York City live in neighborhoods served by the cityÕs 16 poorest performing schools. Over half of New York StateÕs prison inmate population comes from a geographic which contains eleven of these schools
  • 90% of the inmates in the New York City jails have no high school diploma or GED.
  • 70% of the adult inmates in New York City jails read English below the 6th Grade level.
  • 82% of the inmates who are incarcerated drop out of school from 10th Grade back.
  • GED is a requirement for parole for men between the ages of 18-35.