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A03995 Summary:

BILL NOA03995
 
SAME ASSAME AS S03735
 
SPONSORAubry (MS)
 
COSPNSRMosley, Rozic, Lentol, Davila, Jaffee
 
MLTSPNSRArroyo, Epstein, Perry
 
Rpld §661 sub 6 ¶d, Ed L
 
Authorizes academic performance awards for incarcerated persons making such persons eligible to receive awards from the tuition assistance program.
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A03995 Memo:

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.
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A03995 Text:



 
                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
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