Spring 2020
Committee:
Legislative Affairs Committee
WHEREAS, under the Clinton Administration, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 [1] banned incarcerated students from accessing Pell Grants, due to a “tough on crime” mentality, and this Act has hindered the educational and rehabilitation pursuits of incarcerated individuals by forming a financial barrier;
WHEREAS, the Obama Administration, in 2015, launched a Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for Incarcerated Individuals to test new models to allow incarcerated Americans to pursue post-secondary education and create safer communities [2];
WHEREAS, “a 2013 study from the RAND Corporation, funded by the Department of Justice, found that incarcerated individuals who participated in correctional education were 43% less likely to return to prison within three years than prisoners who did not participate in any correctional education programs” [3], in return, the individuals are rehabilitated rather than participating in a cycle of incarceration; and
WHEREAS, the United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world at 2.2 million with California holding the second-largest incarcerated population at 202,700 as of 2016 [4], the California Community Colleges system stands best equipped to rehabilitate incarcerated students with its 115 colleges as the largest system of public education in the nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges work in collaboration with other student organizations in California and across the nation to advocate for the United States Congress and the Department of Education to re-establish the Second Chance Pell Grant program with adequate funding, and to include the entire California Community College’s education systems in the Second Chance Pell program.
Citation 1: https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/3355/text
Citation 2: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/12000-incarcerated-students-enroll-postsecondary-educational-and-training-programs-through-education-departments-new-second-chance-pell-pilot-program
Citation 3: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR266.html
Citation 4: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus16.pdf
WHEREAS, the Obama Administration, in 2015, launched a Second Chance Pell Pilot Program for Incarcerated Individuals to test new models to allow incarcerated Americans to pursue post-secondary education and create safer communities [2];
WHEREAS, “a 2013 study from the RAND Corporation, funded by the Department of Justice, found that incarcerated individuals who participated in correctional education were 43% less likely to return to prison within three years than prisoners who did not participate in any correctional education programs” [3], in return, the individuals are rehabilitated rather than participating in a cycle of incarceration; and
WHEREAS, the United States of America has the highest incarceration rate in the world at 2.2 million with California holding the second-largest incarcerated population at 202,700 as of 2016 [4], the California Community Colleges system stands best equipped to rehabilitate incarcerated students with its 115 colleges as the largest system of public education in the nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Student Senate for California Community Colleges work in collaboration with other student organizations in California and across the nation to advocate for the United States Congress and the Department of Education to re-establish the Second Chance Pell Grant program with adequate funding, and to include the entire California Community College’s education systems in the Second Chance Pell program.
Citation 1: https://www.congress.gov/bill/103rd-congress/house-bill/3355/text
Citation 2: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/12000-incarcerated-students-enroll-postsecondary-educational-and-training-programs-through-education-departments-new-second-chance-pell-pilot-program
Citation 3: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR266.html
Citation 4: https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cpus16.pdf