NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3995
SPONSOR: Aubry (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to repeal paragraph d of subdivision 6 of section 661 of the
education law relating to eligibility of incarcerated persons for
academic performance awards
PURPOSE:
Repeals ban on incarcerated persons receiving student financial aid
awards.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
By repealing the ban on academic performance awards, inmates would once
again be eligible to receive awards from the State's Tuition Assistance
Program (TAP).
JUSTIFICATION:
Until 1995, inmates in state correctional facilities were eligible to
receive TAP awards in order to pursue higher education. Studies have
consistently found that the. higher the level of education, attained,
the more likely a former inmate will be to obtain gainful and stable
employment, and the less likely he or she will be to engage in future
criminal activity. Unfortunately, according to a report published by the
Correctional Association of New York in January, 2009, entitled "Educa-
tion From the Inside, Out: The Multiple Benefits of College Programs in
Prison," only four out of seventy post-secondary correctional education
programs continued to operate in New York following the termination of
TAP availability for inmates.
According to the Correctional Association report, statistical evidence
from several highly regarded Studies demonstrates that college program-
ming in prison is a highly effective tool in reducing recidivism. For
example, the report cites a 1991 study released by New York's Department
of Correctional Services, that found inmates who earned a degree while
incarcerated had a 26.4 percent recidivism rate whereas 44.6 percent of
participants who did not earn a degree were returned to custody. The
report cites another influential study, published in 2004, "Post-Secon-
dary Correctional Education and Recidivism: A Meta-Analysis of Research
Conducted 1990-1999," that found inmates who participated in post-secon-
dary correctional education programs recidivated 22 percent, of the time
and those who did not participate had a recidivism rate of 41 percent.
Further, the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform recently
reported' that postsecondary correctional education programs have been
shown to reduce recidivism by up to 40% and the Commission recommended
that more postsecondary educational opportunities be made available to
inmates.
In the interest of reducing recidivism, such awards should be made
available to those inmates who wish to use their period of incarceration
to pursue their education and thereby better their chances to reenter
society as productive, law-abiding citizens.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.3837 referred to higher education in 2011 and 2012.
A.3401 referred to higher education in 2013 and 2014.
A.2870 referred to higher education in 2015 and 2016.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined. It should be noted to lower recidivism rates and gain-
fully employed former inmates will save the state money by reducing
incarceration costs and the cost of providing unemployment and other
benefits.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3995
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. AUBRY, MOSLEY, ROZIC, LENTOL, DAVILA, JAFFEE --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, PERRY -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to repeal paragraph d of subdivision 6 of section 661 of the
education law relating to eligibility of incarcerated persons for
academic performance awards
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph d of subdivision 6 of section 661 of the educa-
2 tion law is REPEALED.
3 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08144-01-7
