WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced House Bill 5655
By Delegate Rowe [Introduced February 13, 2024; Referred to the Committee on Jails and Prisons then the Judiciary]
 Intr HB 2024R1464
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 (a) 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 (iv) Does not possess a General Educational Development (GED) diploma or a verified
14 high school diploma; and
15 (C) Require any incarcerated individual to participate in:
16 1. The mandatory education program for at least 240 calendar days; or
17 2. A workforce skills training program.
18 (2) The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall report to the Parole Board the
19 academic progress of an incarcerated individual in the mandatory education program.
1
Intr HB 2024R1464
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a mandatory education program for incarcerated individuals.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 15A-4-22