Tennessee § 41-21-238 - Educational and vocational training plan — Documentation.

§ 41-21-238. Educational and vocational training plan — Documentation.

In addition to the education plan authorized by § 41-21-509, the commissioner of education, with the assistance of the commissioner of correction and a representative from the board of regents and the University of Tennessee system, shall by January 1, 1995, formulate a plan to increase the educational and vocational opportunities currently available to inmates in the custody of the department of correction. This plan shall emphasize basic educational skills such as reading and writing, but shall also include possible use of existing community colleges and vocational schools for inmates who are acceptable security risks and are in need of a marketable free-work skill that cannot be obtained within the confines of a correctional institution. Upon implementation of the plan, the commissioner of correction, with the assistance of the board of parole, shall monitor and document the effectiveness of the plan. Documentation shall include: The number of inmates who participate; The amount of improvement in educational or vocational skills achieved by the participating inmates; The percentage of participating inmates able to obtain employment upon their release from custody; and The recidivism rate of inmates who participated in the plan. [Deleted by 2020 amendment.] Acts 1994, ch. 730, § 1; 1998, ch. 1049, § 63; 2011, ch. 410, § 2(d), (e); 2013, ch. 236, § 64; 2015, ch. 182, § 6; 2019, ch. 345, § 65; 2020, ch. 711, § 8. Code Commission Notes. The former last sentence in subsection (b), regarding the initial date by which legislation should be submitted to the committees to fund and make the plan operational, was deleted as obsolete by the code commission in 2006. Compiler's Notes. For the Preamble to the act concerning the prohibition against establishment of a special committee if there is a standing committee on the same subject, please refer to Acts 2011, ch. 410. Acts 2012, ch. 727, § 1 amended § 4-3-104 , which concerns name changes of departments and divisions, to provide that references to the board of probation and parole, formerly referred to in subsection (b), are deemed references to the board of parole. Amendments. The 2019 amendment, in (c), substituted “the state and local government and education committees of the senate, the education committee of the house of representatives, and the committee of the house of representatives having oversight over corrections” for “the state and local government committee of the senate, the state government committee of the house of representatives, the education committee of the senate and the education administration and planning committee of the house of representatives”. The 2020 amendment deleted (c) which read: “The results of the monitoring of the plan, as well as any recommendations for improving the plan, shall, on an annual basis, be submitted to the state and local government and education committees of the senate, the education committee of the house of representatives, and the committee of the house of representatives having oversight over corrections for review.” Effective Dates. Acts 2019, ch. 345, § 148. May 10, 2019. Acts 2020, ch. 711, § 11. June 15, 2020. Cross-References. Parole determinations, § 40-35-503 .