To help inmates acquire skills that enable them be more successful upon release, nearly all states offer educational services ranging from secondary or postsecondary academic instruction to vocational skills training to courses in life skills and cognitive restructuring. To make sound decisions about allocating scarce resources, federal and state policymakers need to know the types of educational services routinely provided to inmates, their intensity, and the extent of inmates’ access to these services. State data can be used to answer policy question such as:

• Facility Correctional Education Characteristics—a facility’s academic and vocational programs.
  
  
• What types of education courses are provided to inmates?
  
  
• What criteria do facilities use when placing inmates in programs?
  
  
• Do inmates have equal access to educational programs within state and private facilities? Nationwide?
  
  
• Has inmate access to educational services changed over time?
  
  
• How often and for how long are classes offered?

Variables

To respond effectively to policymakers’ questions about the instructional services offered by correctional facilities, states will need to standardize reporting around the following data:

Standardizing State Reporting

States currently classify programs using different terminology. To improve reporting, states will need to work together to build consistent definitions for education programs. Current issues that will need to be resolved include: