WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced House Bill 5654
By Delegate Rowe [Introduced February 13, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Jails and Prisons then the Judiciary]
 Intr HB 2024R1707
1 A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section,
2 designated §15A-4-22, relating to the creation of a mandatory education program for all
3 incarcerated individuals.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 4. CORRECTIONS MANAGEMENT.
§15A-4-22. Mandatory Educational Program for Incarcerated Individuals
1 The Division shall adopt regulations for all correctional institutions in the Division of
2 Corrections and Rehabilitation for the implementation of a mandatory education program for all
3 incarcerated individuals who fail to attain a minimum educational standard as set forth in this
4 subsection.
5 (1) The regulations adopted by the Division shall:
6 (A) Require that the educational standard shall be the attainment of a General Educational
7 Development (GED) diploma or a verified high school diploma;
8 (B) Apply only to any incarcerated individual who:
9 (i) Was received by the Division of Correction after July 1, 1987;
10 (ii) Has 18 months or more remaining to be served before a mandatory supervision release
11 date;
12 (iii) Is not exempted due to a medical, developmental, or learning disability; and
13 (iiii) Does not possess a General Educational Development (GED) diploma or a verified
14 high school diploma; and
15 (C) Require that any GED diploma be awarded in a timely manner and conferred in such a
16 way as to be meaningfully available at the time of parole or release from incarceration; and
17 (2) Require any incarcerated individual to participate in:
18 1. The mandatory education program for at least 240 calendar days; or
19 2. A workforce skills training program.
20 (b) The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall report to the Parole Board the
1
 Intr HB 2024R1707
21 academic progress of an incarcerated individual in the mandatory education program.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to ensure that GED training is offered to inmates on a timely basis and to ensure that it is meaningfully available at the time of parole or release.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
2


Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15A-4-22