Findings; purpose

(a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Over the course of an 8-year-period following the release of individuals from Federal prisons, the United States Sentencing Commission found that 49.3 percent of such individuals were rearrested, 31.7 percent were reconvicted, and 24.6 percent were reincarcerated. (2) The Bureau of Justice Statistics found that, over a similar time period as described in paragraph (1), 83 percent of people released from State prisons were rearrested. (3) A broad spectrum of prison education programming can prepare individuals for the contemporary workforce pre-release, ensuring that upon release the individuals are best situated to be productive members of their communities. (4) Education for people in prisons has a clear public safety benefit, reducing recidivism rates by over 43 percent. (5) Employment is 13 percent higher for individuals who participated in either academic or vocational programs in prison, and 28 percent higher for individuals who participated in vocational programs alone. (6) During the first 3 years after an individual is released, each dollar spent on funding prison education programs reduces incarceration costs by 4 to 5 dollars. (7) Prison education helps to improve the safety of the prison environment, not only for incarcerated individuals, but also for correctional officers and prison staff. (8) A 2016 analysis of the Bureau of Prisons education programs found that the Bureau of Prisons spends 20 percent as much on inmate education as the nearest sized State prison systems and experiences a proportionally low return. (9) The 2016 analysis described in paragraph (8) also found that the Bureau of Prisons lacked the staff, programmatic strategy and alignment, budget, assessment, and educational support to effectively administer educational programs. (b) Purpose The purpose of this Act is to create a dedicated office within the Bureau of Prisons to— (1) improve the prison education programs provided by the Bureau of Prisons; (2) ensure access to quality education programs across all Federal penal and correctional institutions; (3) create partnerships with education providers to offer quality programs; and (4) create a repository of research and best practices for State and local correctional institutions on quality education programs.